Pinecrest will celebrate our sister city status with Cognac, France this year on Valentines Day, Sunday, February 14th with day of all things French in Pinecrest Gardens.
Cognac Day will be celebrated with a French-themed brunch complete with Cognac Cocktails, mimosas and wine. Music will be provided throughout the day, with a performance by the award winning Palmetto Elementary Jazz Ensemble. There will also be a workshop featuring the Carmen Lundy Quartet and students from the New World School Jazz Ensemble.
The Brunch will be from 11: 00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, February 14 in Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Road, and the Jazz workshop begins at 2:00 p.m.
Cognac is typically described by the aroma of flowers, fruits, nuts and spices. These smells are similar to what one encounters in Pinecrest Gardens, making it the perfect venue to celebrate the fourth annual Cognac Day celebration since our twinning. Only a specific type of brandy made in the Cognac region of France can be labeled as cognac under European Union rules.
The benefits of being a sister city with Cognac, France include student exchange programs, tourism and business promotions. The first Pinecrest-Cognac exchange students are expected to travel abroad early next year. Pinecrest and Cognac are comparable cities in that they have about 19,000 residents each, both have residents with high levels of education and are both sustainability pioneers.
Pinecrest and Cognac’s friendship stems from a chance meeting between Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner and Cognac Mayor Michel Gourinchas and his delegation February 2012 at a luncheon sponsored by the Miami chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International. Les Dames (French for “The Women”) is an organization of women leaders in food, wine, hospitality, and farming. A week after the meeting, Mayor Lerner invited Mayor Gourinchas and his delegation to Pinecrest so that they could learn a little more about each other’s communities. That day the Village welcomed Mayor Gourinchas and his delegation with a proclamation designating February 15, 2012 as Cognac Day.
Pinecrest’s sister city status with Cognac was formalized in 2013 when Mayor Gourinchas visited Pinecrest for the second time February 15th on Cognac Day and signed a formal agreement along with Mayor Lerner. Celebrate Cognac Day in Pinecrest Gardens at our Valentines Day Brunch.
For tickets call 877-495-8499. Or go to www.completeticketsolutions.com.
