Two public barbecue grills to be installed in Nyon. Nyon council is due to install a barbecue grill in the park area near the Conservatoire of Nyon for the public's use and ready for the Easter weekend and a second grill will be installed in the park of Mangette on the 6th April. Open Day at the Conservatoire de l'Ouest Vaudois There will be Conservatoire de l'Ouest Vaudois Open Day in both Nyon and Morges on Saturday 21st April from 10:00-14:00 with workshops to try out different instruments (initiation classes for little ones as young as 2 years old!)

A new centre Les Ateliers de La Côte (workshops of La Côte) will hold an Open Day on Saturday 24th March in Etoy. Over 95 studios (with high ceilings) ranging from 20 - 52 m2 m are all under one roof and available to rent for artists and creators. There are sound booths for recordings, rooms for workshops, dance classes, music groups, a room to hold public events and more. The Open Day starts at 11:00. There will be food trucks, a bar, concerts and events happening throughout the day and a chance to see the work of the artists who are already in residence including the work of Nyon artist Helen Jenefsky and local artist Rita Mancesti Free parking or a 5 minute walk from Etoy railway station.

Parade in Nyon and Communal buffet Meal - Friday the 23rd March As part of AntI-Racism week in Nyon, school children will take part in a parade on Friday 23rd March at 17:30. This parade will wind through the streets of Nyon. The route of the cortège will start at Place du Château and then continue along Grand-Rue, Rue de la Gare, Rue de la Môrache, Route de Divonne, Route du Stand and finish in the Collège secondaire de Nyon-Marens (the secondary school). Festivities continue in the hall of the secondary school which will be decorated by the collective Hapax 21. Children and adults will be welcomed by an amateur choir which has been created just for the occasion. 19:00 Members of the public are encouraged to come along and bring (preferably finger food)from their country for a multicultural buffet to be shared by all. Free entry.

The line-up for Paléo 2018 was revealed at a press conference in Nyon this morning the 20th March. Some of the well-known headline acts include Gorillaz, Depeche Mode, Lenny Kravitz, The Killers, MGMT, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and there are many other new and upcoming bands and artists on the programme. Daniel Rossellat, president of Paléo explained that five out of six bands/artists invited this year have never played at the festival before. Apparently, hip-hop artist Little Simz from London who is performing on Thursday night, Bicep from Belfast and Charlotte Cardin from Canada (she is being called the "new" Adele) are some of the many new artists to watch out for. There will be music from Southern Europe in the Village du Monde area and the sounds will vary from the Portuguese fado of Ana Moura, to "Havana meets Kingston" a group who mix rumba, salsa and son Cubano with reggae, dub and dancehall. See Youtube video below There is plenty of techno and hip-hop on the line up this year including reggae with Soja and Jahneration playing on Friday. To see the full line up for this years' Paléo, click here Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 28 March, at 12:00. Living Nyon recommends that readers either get in line early at any of the retail outlets or at the Paléo shop, or get online ready to buy when they are released. They sell out very early - usually within a few hours.

If you love watching shows such as "Whose Line is it Anyway?" or you like to watch live improv, there will be a big charity improv festival taking place all day in Geneva next Saturday 24th March. Improv groups from Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne will perform at The Lac Léman-a Palooza festival from 18:00 -23:00. The early bird pricing for the evening is CHF 30 CHF (until March 19) after this date, the price will be CHF 35. If you're a beginner wanting to give improv a shot, or an old hand looking to hone your skills, there will be workshops during the festival from 10:00 -17:00 One workshop: 40 CHF Two workshops: 70 CHF Three workshops: 100 CHF All proceeds from ticket sales and food/drinks at the bar will go to support The Flying Seagull Project: a troupe of clowns, magicians, circus performers and musicians taking smiles to those in need. See website for more details

Monstres Bien! is the title of a weekend of storytelling for children at Nyon castle on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th March 2018. See programme below.

Nyon's Easter market will take place on the Rue de Rive area of Nyon on Sunday 18th March from 08:30 to 18:30 Stalls, gifts, Easter products for sale.

Anti-Racism week begins today Thursday the 15th March in Nyon and continues until the 23rd March. There are various events planned over the next few days beginning with an apéro and a soup which will be served today the 15th at 17:00 outside the Roulotte railway carriage along with some live music. Stop by to have a drink, a bowl of soup and to say "Hello". Inside the yurt near the Roulotte there will also be a little exhibition produced by school children as part of anti-racism week. More on the other activities around anti-racism week coming up.

The "Living in the Know" March podcast is now out and this month Lisa from Know-it-all Passport and Catherine from Living in Nyon, discuss where to source expat products in French-speaking Switzerland. From hunting out American "Texas Pete’s Chicken Wing Sauce" to "Lyle’s Golden Syrup” from Britain, they name shops and websites where you can find such products. They also chat about whether we should simply adapt to the food in the country we live in and forget about buying expat foodstuffs, or whether it's still OK to taste a bit of “home" from time to time. In Lisa’s French minute, she teaches Catherine an expression which means “here we go again”. https://soundcloud.com/living-in-nyon/march-2018 Links mentioned in the podcast American Market in Nyon and Geneva Jim's British market in Gland and St. Genis-Pouilly British Cheese Centre MyExpatshopTuckbox

Nyon now has a population of 21,000. This milestone was reached in March 2018. There are 129 different nationalities living in the town. Back in 1950, the town had a population of 6,000! Photo above - Sunset over Nyon railway station with of the many cranes that populate the town's skyline.

In 2018, the Château de Prangins celebrates 20 years as home to the Swiss National Museum in French-speaking Switzerland. To celebrate this milestone, the château will host a weekend of celebrations on the 29 and 30th September. One of the events planned will be a massive work of art entitled "Flowers of Fire" which will be created out of 50,000 candles and which will be lit up in the early evening in the gardens and grounds of the castle. A similar work of art was created at the château 10 years ago by the artist Muma (see photos here) and the event was a resounding success. To ensure success this second time around, 500 volunteers (both young and old, families are welcome) are needed to help light and arrange 50,000 candles in the gardens of the château on the 29th September (note there will be a first voluntary rehearsal on Saturday 26th May from 20:00 to 22:00 and another full mandatory rehearsal on the 22nd September). For more information, or to sign up, go to the FAQ page here You can also sign up to volunteer by contacting jacqueline.naepflin@museenational.ch. But don't leave it too late, this event was very popular in 2008 and probably will be again in 2018! More information on the 20-year celebrations and exhibitions coming up later on Living in Nyon.

Nyon is completely covered in snow right now, but if you are thinking of venturing outside here is a selection of events coming up this weekend. If none of them appeals, why not simply make a snowman as in the photo below. This was taken on Thursday near the Esplanade Jules Caesar in Nyon. Julius is looking rather cold at the moment (photo at the end of this post). Music Saturday 3rd March "Sophie de Quay and the Waveguards" at the Parenthèse in Nyon - concert at 22:00 (pop electro acoustic) Open Day at Montessori School Open Day at Montessori School in Nyon on Saturday 3rd March 2018 from 14:00 - 17:00. Teachers present on the day. See the previous article about the school here Musée du Léman Looking for somewhere to take the children this weekend? Check out the Musée du Léman in Nyon and its exhibitions dedicated to the nature and culture of Lake Geneva. Cinema "The Shape of Water" Monday movie in English at 20:45 on 5th March at Nyon's Capitole Cinema Note: there are other films showing in "VO" (version originale) at the cinema including "Phantom Thread" screening tonight Friday 2nd March at 18:00 and "The Post" on Saturday 3rd at 18:15. Details here