TIMEOFF - General New Jersey’s Weekly Guide to Cultural Survival – Sept. 26 – Oct. 5, 2003
International Flavor by Susan Van Dongen, Princeton, New Jesey

SPEAKING on the phone while creating crepes and wraps in her Flemington café, Annick Elziere is probably going against her “savor the moment” philosophy by multitasking. She’s excited to talk about the Café Annick Music and Arts Festival on Sept. 28, but is waiting on customers at the same time.

Ms. Elziere pauses to take an order from two men who have wandered in for a late lunch, both of whom ask for a side in addition to a sandwich. “Are you sure?” she says, telling the customer that one of her wrap sandwiches will be quite enough for a mid-afternoon bite – there’s no need for anything else.

Such an interaction is almost unbelievable in a land where food servers just about coerce the customer to eat, eat, and eat. This is America, after all, the land of supersized everything. For another 50 cents you can have thousands of calories more.

To Ms. Elziere, it’s part of her mission to educate Americans that they don’t need as much food, work, mind-altering substances, material things and sensation in general. Ever since she opened Café Annick in December 2002, she’s been trying to get her customers, friends and neighbors in the fast lane to slow down and enjoy life, the way she did growing up in the Beaujolais region of France.

“We cannot continue to live like robots with a fake smile,” Ms. Elziere writes on the Café Annick Website. “We need to learn how to relax and take the time to socialize and meet our neighbors.”

“People here don’t have time to do anything,” she says. “They’re too busy with materialist things. Even at parties I’ve noticed people stay for only one hour. Nobody has the time to enjoy themselves with friends. That’s what I’m trying to teach,” she continues. “That’s what I’m trying to bring to the area with the café and the music festival. It’s another kind of lifestyle. Slow down and chat with the people sitting next to you.”
The Café Annick Music and Arts Festival Sept. 28 will be a perfect opportunity to follow Ms. Elziere’s recommendations. The free festivities feature tables of arts and crafts displayed outside the café on Broad Street and continuous music inside.

The musicians and their styles run the gamut from a Theremin player named Scott Marshall to classic rock n’ roll by Stone and Fox. Rob Bensen Coover, Roia Rafieyan, Vincent Trerraciano and Mark Bodino will play sets featuring folk and bluegrass, while Briz explores the more alternative fringes of the genre. Flutists will be represented, with Lynn Rosenthal playing Native American flute music and the duo Rusty and Jane offering a quiet blend of acoustic guitar and classical flute. Eco Del Sur will take listeners on a musical journey to the Andes with a special emphasis on the Zamponas – the haunting wooden “pan-pipes: of South America. Sacred Fool mixes Asian-inflected folk with “edgy” Celtic music, and percussion duo Lara and Yael will do a set featuring West African drumming and songs Lara Gonzalez brought back from her travels in Guinea.
Outside, accordionist Thomas P. and youthful bagpiper Ben Bridegum will round out the musical feast. Ms. Elziere says “ethnic attire is encouraged.”

“I want people to enjoy themselves and have fun. It’s a big party and it’s all free,” Ms. Elziere says. “This is not about me or the café. It’s about the arts. I’m trying to encourage people to forget the computer, forget the baseball game, turn off the TV and enjoy people instead. It’s the best and cheapest way to have a happy life.”

Ms. Elziere came to the United States some 30 years ago, originally to work as an au pair. She also worked professionally as a photographer and Web designer. She was employed by Bristol-Myers Squibb as an administrative assistant in the photography department but lost her job during a series of layoffs. The period of unemployment was difficult, but Ms. Elziere had been nurturing ideas for self-employment and used the free time to plan Café Annick. She runs the business with her daughter and two sons.

“I always wanted to do something on my own,” Ms. Elziere says. “The minute I was laid off, I knew I wasn’t going to look for another corporate job. The steady paycheck was handy, but I was done working for corporations.”

Watching her business evolve has been frightening, and sometimes Ms. Elziere longs for that regular take-home pay. She likens the birthing of Café Annick to carrying her first child. “I never thought how difficult this would be, “she says. “I compare it to nine months of pregnancy—not knowing how things would work out. It was a real crash course, but now I’m starting to see my way clear.”

Hosting live music and supporting musicians, mostly from Hunterdon and Mercer counties, has helped to sustain her. Ms. Elziere says the music has been the best part of her new endeavor.  “I’ve really been finding a lot of talent,” she says. “We’ve had a least 30 people who have played here already. The musicians love it – they feel like they’re hosting a party. It’s a very friendly, intimate space and there’s a lot of communication between the people (in the audience) and the musicians.”

“Personally, the arts are very important in my life – in fact, without the arts there is no life,” Ms. Elziere says. “Artists have it right. They’re probably the happier people on this planet. That’s what I want to do with the festival. Support the arts, support our area musicians and give them a chance for public exposure. We’re very down to earth here and not at all commercial. Nobody is here to grab your dollar.”

Café Annick Music and Arts Festival will be held at 117 Broad St., Flemington, Sept. 28, 12:30-6:30 p.m. – Free admission. For information, call (908) 788-8886. On the Web: www.cafeannick.com