Festivals and Fetes – summer in France
It could be the Tour de France passing through Montpellier, or maybe the 62nd year of the Confolens International Folk Singing and Dancing Week in Nouvelle Aquitaine. Perhaps it could just be the weekend of the Fete of the Gros ( Ginormous) Croissant & Vide Grenier in Guédeniau just north of Saumur in the Loire Valley. France loves it’s summer time events, brings people together, it’s heaps of fun and we all love an excuse for a party!!
In our visit to France this year, through two sets of friends, our visits happened to coincide with local Fetes/ Festivals and back in 2016 we happened to be staying in Montpellier over Bastille Day, when the Tour de France (TDF) and all its marketing entourage rolled out of town.
Based upon this small sample of events, we think that if you are in France and can attend one of these local festivities, please try to they are super fun. Some will be very simple, a village get together, some music, simple food and local wine out of a cask. Others like the TDF will be much more sophisticated, any are great fun.
Le Gros Croissant & Vide Grenier – Guédeniau
This little village sits at a rural crossroads about 20 mins drive north of Saumur in the western Loire Valley. It’s very much a rural, farming community with a number of holiday homes. For their annual Fete, the four streets leading into the village are closed to traffic and recently harvested fields commandeered for parking.
Suddenly on a Sunday the Fete comes alive, what is home to perhaps a few hundred people becomes a throng of 10,000+ wandering along the roads checking out all the Vide Grenier ( aka car boot sale minus the car boots), junk offerings. With the food stalls and general noise, it’s great fun. The Gros Croissant angle is the “foodie” side, with huge croissants available for consumption as you shop!
Confelons 62nd International Folk Dancing & Singing
Friends we were staying with north of Limoges, took us to this Festival. It runs for a week, is in the middle of rural Nouvelle Aquitaine, and this was it’s 62nd year, pretty impressive. As with others the town is closed to traffic , but this is definitely a step up in organisational logistics. A number of acts perform on street corners, and on the main town square stage, more again in a large tent which we think holds about 3500 people. Performers from Belarussia, Ghana, Mexico and many more countries around the world.
So this is a serious production, and during our day visiting the high point for us was the afternoon Street Parade from one end of town to the other. This was super fun, crowds thronging the streets, music, song and a general hubbub of noise. Even the river is used with a group of musicians playing as they drifted down under the bridge on their peddaloes. They too were excellent.
Interesting to have the Street Parade lead by members of the French Army complete with automatic rifles, the threat of terrorism and soft target public events, ever present!
A more simple Village fete
In July 2018 we spent a couple of weeks in the southern Ardeche, with the village of Rochegude on the Ceze river as our base.
Driving through the village we noticed some signs up about a Fete on the Friday in the square that evening so we dropped by to see. It was a very simple affair, a DJ with some music, an open air bar with local cask Ardeche wine and your choice of saucisson ou burger et frites.
Sitting under the plane trees, having a chat with the local mayor, just perfect.
Fetes and Festivals are very much a part of French summer life and at other times too. So wherever you are visiting check them out and give them a go, they are great fun!!
Travels with My Wife 