February • Cultural Insight

Fête du Citron

The golden city of Menton. This festival features massive sculptures made entirely of lemons and oranges. This lesson covers the commercialisation of nature and how a single fruit can define the economic and cultural life of an entire French city.

Speaking Discussion

Why do we find it so impressive to build temporary things from food?
Is the lemon festival a genuine celebration of local agriculture or just a tourist trap?
If you were a fruit, which one would represent your personality? Why?
What happens to a town when it becomes famous for only one thing?
Would you rather live in a city that smells like lemons or a city that smells like the sea?

Activity 1: The Master Sculptor

The Task: You are building a lemon sculpture of a famous person. Who is it, and why is the sourness of a lemon a good metaphor for them? Write 3 sentences.

Activity 2: Rapid Fire Debate

Is beauty enough of a reason to spend $1 million on a festival?

Key Vocabulary

Agriculture (N) The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
Sculpture (N) The art of making two- or three-dimensional representative or abstract forms.
Metaphor (N) A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Agriculture (N) The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
Agriculture (N) The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

Fluency Catalyst

Native Phrase: When discussing impact, use: "When life gives you lemons..."

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