by Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 13/98) - The evening will combine some of life's finest things: good French wine, creamy French cheese, original artwork, literary awards and classical music.

And it's all been organized to help ring in the 20th birthday of La Federation Franco-TeNOise, the territorial francophone collective. The evening will also run in conjunction with the cultural program of the Arctic Winter Games.

According to Sylvie Francoeur, the co-ordinator of Rendez-vous doux, the birthday party begins with a private reception in the NACC lobby at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night.

"There is a wine and cheese reception but it is a private event since we have wine and it's part of the Arctic Winter Games," says Francoeur. Alcohol is not permitted to be a part of any of the events open to the athletes.

As part of the reception, she has also planned the opening of an art exhibit that features the work of eight francophone artists.

Francoeur says the art show will move to the Explorer Hotel on March 18 and 19 to represent the francophone community at the Arctic Winter Artists' Trade and Marketing show.

The door to the public opens at 8 p.m. and the night gets under way with the French literary awards.

Following the presentation, there will be a classical music recital organized by Laurier Fagnon, a baritone from Alberta.

"Our segment will be one and a half hours of music featuring different styles within the classical idiom," says Laurier, who translates Rendez-vous doux to mean a "sweet evening" or a "sweet get-together."

The executive director of FFTN says the 20th anniversary is a real milestone for the francophone community.

"In the beginning, the association was called Association Franco-TeNOise but when the francophone community got bigger, it became evident that we needed a local association to take care of the local needs," says Daniel Lamoureux, the executive director of FFTN.

"That became the Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife and at that point, the (federation) was created with a territorial mandate," says Lamoureux, who adds that they have already formed L'Association des Franco du Nunavut, a group that will represent francophones living in the new territory after division.

Francoeur says events like Rendez-vous doux allow FFTN to publicly support and promote the francophone arts community.