Postcards From Susan: Fete Folklorique in Plomodiern

So, there we were , bright and early in Plomodiern on Sunday, August 15 for the Fete Folklorique. Since we had driven through the town the night before on our way to the pardon, we were wondering how the village would charge the 4e advertised for the parade. Not to worry -- they simply put up barricades at every possible entrance, then had ticket sellers posted.

The first order of the day was the "Defile" (dayfeelay), which was a parade of 13 groups from nearby villages, each in the traditional dress of their villages. Each was accompanied by a "bagad" or band. The bands (plural "bagadou") had bagpipes, the soner or chanter, a piped instrument that looks like a flute but makes a sound like the bagpipes, very piercing, and drums. The groups gathered around the block from the church. They went by once in one direction, then another time the opposite direction, then made a final pass on their way to the beer garden down the street, where it appeared anyone in the parade was entitled to at least one beer.

It was the best parade we have ever seen. The costumes were interesting and what's more, genuine. The dancing was just a suggestion of what was to come, and the music was spectacular. There were babies in decorated carriages, infants, adults and kids of every age, several horse-drawn carts, and even two men dressed as peasants with a wheelbarrow -- following along the horses, the wheelbarrow was not a decorative item. There was also a man in contemporary dress pulling a basket of umbrellas -- even though the day was clear and warm, it would have been a disaster if the costumes had been damaged by rain.

Everything about the parade was fascinating: the music, the costumes, the dances. After the parade it was time for lunch, and after a walk around the town we decided to join the vast multitudes enjoying a ham lunch in a grassy field. For our 11e (about 14 dollars) we got an ample lunch of ham, couscous and ratatouille, melon, bread and a slice of the local custard cake, far breton. We chatted with our neighbors for a bit, then made our way to the next stop, the afternoon spectacular, when each of the groups would perform dances and music.

Parading is very tiring.

And how about some tea?

As we waited for the festivities to begin, we wandered around the edge of the audience area, looking at the benches of the ancien artisans -- artisans, who were doing various kinds of traditional work. We were especially impressed by the lacemakers, the rope maker, basketmaker, bee keeper, and the wooden shoe maker. There was even a man making wooden spoons.

lacemaking

rope making

wooden shoes, tools

An old fashioned bee hive.

Basketmaking

Spoon making

We saw one of these in a museum, where a pulley was used to swing the spoon holder across the room.

One of the best parts of the day was walking around the village and having a chance to see the costumes up close. for a long time I wanted to see the lace coifs -- well this was my chance. We saw more coifs than you can shake a stick at.

The girls have their own styles; we saw this black one in a museum in a neighboring village the following day, along with others for even younger girls.

The embroidery was also spectacular.

Of all the coifs we saw, this was our favorite. The lady wearing it was constantly photographed, even when talking on her cell phone.

Now, ladies, let's think about cleaning and preparing the collar alone in this costume.

The dancing was also great fun, as the bands and dancers were showing off various categories of dancing. We have no idea what the categories were, or even if there was a competition going on. But the dancing and music was great -- even if we felt we had had enough after two of the five hours, especially since the day was warm and sunny, and the entire presentation was in the sun. That night there was to be a dance of the mille -- thousands. We have no idea what it was, and we will have to wait for another fete to find out.