regional animations
Seasonal festivals
In spring and in summer, come to party!! Here, the parties are part of the everyday life : spontaneous or organized they can be a simple game of card (mus), of a meal between friends punctuated with songs, either with more traditional forms as carnivals in February, Corpus Christi processions “Pesta Berri ” in June, games of Basque strength bringing into conflict the strong men of villages, races of cows in streets, pelota…. Culture is not either outdone, because of festivals of music, dances, songs are present throughout the year.
Then you will find specialities which exist only here: Irrintzina (shouts of the Basque shepherd), Bertsulari (improvisers), txalaparta, txitu, gaïta (musical instruments), fandango (dance step), party of the shepherds, the gastronomic competitions on the local specialities …
Basque festival
The festival of salt
“Heste de la Saü” is the name of the ” festival of the Salt ” during which Salies-de-Béarn pays tribute to the White Gold, exploited since 15 centuries before J.C and who made its fame.
Salies-de-Béarn welcomes you in its clothes of festival and opens you even the doors of the Museum of the salt to understand even better its attachment in the salt. During this big popular and familyfestival, the public can see the traditional costume of Béarn, and all the spectators are invited to become the actors of the party. Streets, houses, shops are carefully decorated on the theme of the year.
Salies-de-Béarn
Basque festival
Shepherds festival
Craft market
Food and manufactured market proposed by local producers and craftsmen.
Several shepherds and shepherdesses make you taste cheeses’ tommes of ewe and goat, fruit of their work. The honey of our mountains and wines of Jurançon, delicatessen, Basque cakes and so on…
Return of the mountain pasture
The transhumance which is proposed for the festival of the Shepherds is a small travel of about fifteen km of a flock of sheep coming down the high valley of Aspe to Aramits.
The crossed sites offer a magnificent landscape of Pyrenean Piedmont.
The festival of the Shepherds, since its creation, wishes to emphasize and to make the authenticity of this pastoral life known, as well as the link of the shepherd breeder with its animals. During the competition we can only admire the know-how obtained by a patient training, notice the very beautiful capacity of the animal to be immediately answered the expressed orders. And even better, more hardly and much stronger, we shall perceive the very important complicity of the dog with its master.
Aramits
Basque festival
Oloron Sainte-Marie festival
In September 4th, 1993 took place the first “world championship of Garbure” in Oloron Ste Marie.
In front of such a success the organizers decide to create an association “Garburada” to promote and defend this symbolic typical dish.
From now on 20 years, in the public garden, on first Saturday of September around thirty teams have engaged a war to prepare the best “garbure” (typical soup) by respecting the traditional recipe of the ancestral “garbure”. This competition became a big gastronomic and popular festival with its brotherhood as well as of numerous animations, musical groups, regional singings, etc. At the end you can enjoy a meal with 1500 dinner guests in the enjoyment and the good mood
Oloron Sainte-Marie
Basque festival
Forces Basque festival
Spectacular, the demonstration (150 participants and about 4000 curious)
- competition of the lumberjacks,
- the chaff rise (a bundle of hundred kilos within two minutes),
- to raise of cart (350 kg to be turn),
- the sawyers (a beam of beech to be cut up as fast as possible)
- race with the bags of wheat (120m to travel with 76 kilos on the back).
Saint Palais
Traditionnal Feast
The “Blond of Aquitaine”
In August 20th, the cow, “the blond of Aquitaine” is the guest star.
- Exhibition of the cattle
- prize-giving to the breeders
- world championship of gaha-bacota (throw of hoop around the horns of a motionless cow)
- paraded
- Soup of the Blonde
- fireworks
Sauveterre-de-Béarn
Basque festival
Hestiv’ Oc
Exalting brotherly communion around the “langue d’oc” and the cultures of the South, this nice festival begins with a sound of one cantera at 7 pm on the Royal place. About forty groups in four days, subtle marriage of the generations and the styles.
Pau
Traditionnal Feast
Piperadière
Created in 1997, the “Piperadière” celebrates its 20 years. The competition of the best piperade begins at 2 pm. You can register until the 10th of august. Prize-giving at 7 pm after the parade of pots and dressed up kitchen boys (18 hours). You also can find a market on the streets
Salies-de-Béarn
Basque festival
Magic Night in Biarritz
Every year in August 15th you can see e new pyrotechnic creation. In 2016, we shall admire ” Biarritz, the magic jewel ” . The firework has been fired from the “Basta” rock and on the large beach: unforgettable 25 minutes, 2000 rockets, 20 000 spectators!
Biarritz
Basque festival
The rope-soled sandal festival
Square of the paths, to discover the know-how of the “sandaliers” and the attraction of the hand-made in Soule region.
Also to the program:
- Pelota
- Gastronomy
- music and traditional dances
- singings of Xiberoko Zohardia
- show of Basque strength …
Mauléon
Basque festival
Navarrenx festival
festival of the city and big carnival
The four crazy days end in highlight with a magnificent fireworks in the presence of 15 000 people. To the program of the previous days, we shall retain in particular the trail, the walk on the fortifications and the green and white evening, the race of tractors …
Navarrenx
Basque festival
Bayonne festival
The festival of Bayonne are a festive period in the city of Bayonne which begins Wednesday which precedes the first weekend of August (normally the first Wednesday of August but the beginning was moved forward since a few years because of an influx become too important) and ends Sunday following. In 2004, this festival gathered between 1,3 and 1,5 million visitors, making it the most important festival of France. The rigorous holding is white, accompanied by a scarf and by a red belt (cinta or faja). This holding, non-traditional of the region, results in fact from Navarre in Spain. The festive practice is registered on the Inventory of the French immaterial cultural heritage. The city is a member of the Union of the French bullfighting cities. During the festival two bullfights take place.
Bayonne
Basque festival
Hasparren festival
At the heart of greens hills, the rich houses offer an at the same time rich and surprising past. Indeed, Hasparren “the city of oaks” was since the oldest times a strategic place of the Basque Country. After Romans, the Lords of the Middle Ages, the Age of the Enlightenment, the Industrial revolution exploded there in the XIXth century. A stroll in the picturesque streets will not leave the visitor without surprise: traditional Basque farms are transformed here into elegant houses with stony facades or barded by wooden half-timbering painted in red and green.
Hasparren
Locality
