Food festivals in France
Monday, 3rd August 2009
The French take their food seriously and like to celebrate it at every opportunity. There are many food festivals in different parts of France throughout the year which focus on various kinds of food.
Below are some of the festivals coming up in August and September.
There’s a Garlic Festival on the first Friday of August in Lautrec, Tarn, a village in the south west of France famous for it’s pink garlic (l’ail rose). They celebrate this with food, a market, competitions, the creation of a manouille (a long chain of garlic), and music. A large cauldron of pink garlic soup is prepared in the centre of the village for everyone to enjoy. Pink garlic is more aromatic and has a more subtle, sweeter and milder flavour than white garlic.
On the second Sunday in August a Pig Festival (La Pourcailhade) is held in Trie-sur-Baise in central France. Food tasting, competitions and races are the main focus of this event, with the highlight being a pig impersonation competition! There is also a fancy-dress competition, a piglet race, and a blackpudding eating contest.
In the middle of August Lautrec puts on a Bread and Windmills Festival (Fête Pains et Saveurs) which celebrates bread making and the use of windmills for milling wheat. It involves a market with all kinds of local bread, street entertainment, a concert, and a banquet in the central square.
On the second Saturday of August the Carrot Festival is held in the small town of Creances in Normandy. This involves local produce stalls, a market, music and other performances all with a carrot theme.
For 10 days at the end of August the village of Morvillars in Franche-Comté in eastern France puts on an International Beer Festival (Fête internationale de la bière), during which much beer and food is consumed. There’s also music, a parade, and a Miss Franche-Comté competition.
At the beginning of September – 5th-9th Septmber 2009 – there’s a Garlic Fair in Arleux, near Calais in the north west of France. This includes plenty of eating and drinking, street parades, a flea market and the crowning of the Garlic Queen.
At the end of August a Scallop Festival (Fête de la Coquille Saint Jacques) is held in the Normandy town of Villers-sur-Mer. The scallop is a speciality of the region and is celebrated by holding a large seafood market.
Tags: festival, france, food, french
Posted by Simon Ager 2009-08 under Experience Cultures,
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