At long last spring is here after a cold and wet month of April! There are lots of things to do in Praz-sur-Arly in May. The Belles Leisure Park is now open – hot air ballooing, horse-drawn rides and art exhibitions await you, with many other fun activities available in the surrounding Pays du Mont-Blanc.

This is the 3rd exhibition organized by the Praz les Arts Association. The common thread this time is where the artists all come from: Praz-sur-Arly and the neighbouring communes. Paintings, sculptures, photos and embroidery are on show this spring during the opening hours of the Tourist Office.

The famous ski mountaineering race “La montée de l’Envers du Praz” is back! Come and join us on Saturday, 10 March, in Praz-sur-Arly for this 12th stage of the Mountain Ski Tour. We hope that Yannick BUFFET, our European Vice-Champion, triple medal winner at the February European Championships and ski instructor at the Praz Ski School, will be present.

Following the success of the 1st Yooner Derby, with over 100 participants and two champions (Norah Ferkous and Luc Grillet), the Tourist Office, in partnership with the TSL Outdoor Company, challenge you once again to try to become the new French Champion of this discipline on 17 and 18 March 2012!

Our young skier is getting better and better every year. She qualified for the famous Pokal Cup in Slovenia, which took place last weekend.

Sandrine Muffat finished the famous Femundlopet dog-sledding race in style. This qualified her for a place on the French team at the European Championships which are taking place this weekend!

The cold spell is now behind us and the conditions are superb for this 2nd week of the February holidays. Don’t hesitate to consult the snow report and the 3 webcams in Praz-sur-Arly. The access roads to the village are clear. The free shuttle bus runs every 8 minutes during the holiday period. Take advantage of it and leave your car at home!

In Praz-sur-Arly, from Friday 17 February to Sunday 4 March 2012, the Praz-les-Arts Association is back with its Winter Outsider Art exhibition. 20 artists from the Savoie and Haute-Savoie have got together for a free exhibition of their work in the Tourist Office, the Town Hall and of course the Meurets Workshop, the home of our Praz artist and sculptor, Louis Chabaud. Don’t miss this!

Praz-sur-Arly was honoured with a long report at the end of the 1 o’clock news today, Tuesday 24 January 2011. It was filmed on Wednesday, 11 January, at the farm of René-Marc and Karine FEIGE, producers of reblochon cheese at their Belles Violettes Farm. A tasting session with Belgian tourists was also filmed. You can see the report again in this article.

Last Friday evening, the Town Hall launched a new Facebook site dedicated to the history and heritage of Praz-sur-Arly. Over 300 old photos are already online and further documents and videos are expected. Check out the site, make comments and add your own archives!