Today we celebrated the annual 'Fête de la Carotte (Carrot Festival) in our local town, Croissy-sur-Seine. The town celebrates carrots because most of the houses around here have been built over former agricultural land. Everyone dresses up in orange, and there is a number of prizes for the best 'carrot chariots'. The theme this year was 'The Sea' which explains why these little 'carrots' are riding along in a boat. There was also an extremely tall lighthouse carried on a barrow by a bunch of scouts and guides. It was so big it hit an overhanging tree and collapsed close to the finishing line.
The parade (or 'defile' in French) ends in a small park by the Seine where everyone sits down at dozens of tables and chairs and eats a plate of steaming beef and carrots. There is live music, bouncy castles and a lot of stalls manned by local clubs and organisations. It's a way of helping new arrivals to make new friends, renew acquaintances and get involved in the community. And it's good fun too.
3 comments:
What fun.
Do you have a Carrot Festival date for 2006?
I run the World Carrot Musuem and would love to attend.
Hello
The carrot festival this year is on Sunday 10 Sept. There is more information here.
There is a church service at Croissy-sur-Seine church at 10am followed by the parade which starts just outside from 11am. The parade leaves at 12am and arrives at Parc des Berges beside the Seine at 1pm. Everyone then sits down for a meal of beef and carrots and listens to the band.
Bring you carrot costume. You won't feel out of place! I will post more information about the festival on the front page of this blog later today.
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