Baba Cool Pétanque piques interest in East Hampton and The Rockaways
Could it get much more French than drinking a glass of rosé along Parisian canals while playing pétanque? Maybe a bit, but we did not think to ask Gabriella Mann if she was wearing a beret and smoking a Gauloise at the time. These were the conditions under which Gabby, who owns and runs the Brooklyn café Baba Cool, was introduced to the very French game of pétanque. And this summer she is returning the favor, bringing pétanque pop-ups to The Rockaway and the East End this summer.
Gabby knew of the game a little bit, vis a vis her grandmother who hails from the south of France, but it was that game along the riverfront that got her wheels spinning that it would be the perfect backside game. Her next pétanque lessons came when she found a club that plays in Bryant Park and came under the tutelage of a gentleman named Pierre. For the past year or so she’s been planning how to bring the pétanque pop ups, which just had their inaugural trial run at Riis Park Beach Bathhouse in The Rockaways, to life. Pierre was on hand to teach more newcomers.
Having a Ball
The next event is fittingly just in time to celebrate Bastille Day weekend. On Saturday, July 13 join in the pop-up pétanquing fun at Terra Glamping in Cedar Point Park in East Hampton with rosé aplenty and a lemonade stand.
Everyone is welcome for a little casual pétanque on the custom courts, libations and fun times. For those who know of pétanque just barely as something vaguely similar to bocce ball, or even not at all, there will be about 15 minutes of instruction before the tournaments. Come tournament time things get real. OK, not that real, still pretty casual, but at The Rockaway events there are prizes on the line, including a $100 gift certificate to Roberta’s. Come ready to roll.
Baba Cool Pétanque returns to The Rockaway on Saturday, July 20 and Saturday August 17. RSVP to Rockways events here and East Hampton here.
