On April 4th the 1st International Expat Ball of Paris was held. Organized by a handful of volunteers, it gathered together people from many different countries who partied till the early hours. Rendez vous in 2009 for the next edition.
[ Contact ]
To get more information on the next edition or get in touch with Anne-Marie Queitsch post a message to “The International Expat Ball of Paris” to the following mail.
amchamfrance@amchamfrance.org
In spite of welcoming numerous foreign residents, up until a few weeks ago the city of Paris still had no event capable of bringing together expatriates of all nationalities.
 All volunteers
A void which has now been filled thanks to a Canadian, Anne-Marie Queitsch. Having lived in France for some years, she had the idea of organizing a ball for expats. A dream that became reality with the help of a group of friends including Jessica Miller, Marion Pfluger, Mary-Louise Stott and Vanchen Khou, from the American Chamber of Commerce in France.
All volunteers, it was up to them to find everything necessary to make such an evening run smoothly. Equally important if not more so, they were responsible for promoting the event by making it known to those around them and by contacting embassies, institutions and multinational companies. " We also benefited from the help of the Marriott hotel which passed the information on to its customers ", explains Anne-Marie Queitsch. In addition, the American Chamber of Commerce in France managed the bookings, and companies, hotels, and art galleries all contributed prizes for the raffle.
Eighteen countries represented
Despite all this high profile involvement, no financing was provided by outside partners, the whole budget coming from the sale of tickets for the ball, 125 € or 150 € depending on the date of the booking. " And any profits will be given to charity ".
Several months of works which finally came to fruition on April 4th of this year, when 248 people met for the 1st edition of this ball, in the Marriott Rive gauche lounges. Germans, Peruvians, Americans, Estonians, Russians, Portuguese, … All in all 18 countries were represented by members of embassies, foreign schools, international companies or lawyers and consultants. Some personalities were also present such as the Ambassador of the United States and the presidents or the managers of French or International companies such as General Electric, Citibank, Herald Tribune or Grospiron. All accompanied by their wives.
Till three in the morning
A great achievement for a first time and the guests left delighted by this evening made up of four distinct parts. A Champagne and Jazz reception, with music from the American Jazz Quartet. A dinner accompanied by fine wines with musical entertainment from Life Orchestra. A raffle for various prizes such as nights in hotels, bottles of wine, works of art, … And then, to finish, the ball itself, in the course of which Life Orchestra played everything from waltz to samba to rock and roll so that nobody had an excuse not to hit the dance-floor. It was three in the morning before the party finally started winding down.
Delighted with the success of the event and the positive feedback she got from the participants, Anne Marie Queitsch is already planning next year’s ball, which she hopes will attract even more people and where even more countries will be represented.
April 22, 2008
Thierry Joly 
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