From Notre Dame de la Garde, overlooking the Mediterranean port of Marseille, you'll get an earful this weekend. It's the opening weekend of Marseille-Provence's year as "European Capital of Culture," and they're going to start with a bang. A whole night of bangs, in fact.
The plan is for boats in the harbor to toot their horns, for the church bells across the city to peal, for horns to honk, people everywhere to stop and shout. "La Grande Clameur," they're calling it, the Great Clamor. Not to demand anything, but as a dramatic gesture, a piece of participatory theater. Later, there will be treasure hunts in the rugged countryside, exhibits in new museums, and concerts everywhere.
The New York Times today lists Marseille in the No. 2 spot of "46 Places to Go in 2013." Chances are you won't get there in time for the grand opening, but you can read about the program here.
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