| Month |
Event |
Comments |
| February |
Regional Agricultural Fair,
Barcelone-sur-Gers |
the fair lasts for three days
and includes everything from major machinery, to livestock, fairground,
brocante and craft and produce stalls. |
| February |
Exposition des Oiseaux,
Auch |
two days for the regional bird
show - everything from exotic birds to local breeds |
| March to September |
Hippodromes at Auch,
Castéra-Verduzan and Fleurance |
opening of the horse race and
trotting season in the area; meetings take place in March, August and
September and are very enjoyable for enthusiasts and amateur punters
alike. Every racecourse offers lunch - good value and fun - see
their website. |
| April |
Festival National de Film
d'animation, Auch |
5 day film festival |
| May to September |
Exhibitions at Château de Lavardens -
|
Each year finds different exhibitions in the marvellous surroundings of the
Château. 2008 saw the return of the superb sculptures of Camille
Claudel and previous years have seen the works of Dali, the sculptures
of Daphne du Barry and magnificent tapestries from Aubusson. 2009
- the chateau hosted an exhibition of ceramics, christmas santons and
astronomy. From 15 May to 5 September 2010 there will be an
exhibition of art glass entitled 'le Verre dans tout son éclat'; see www.chateaulavardens.com |
| June |
Fêt'a'Pavie, Pavie |
the four day fête of our local village -
bonfires, fireworks, side shows, boule contests, openair restaurants and
live music into the small hours. |
| June - last three weekends 2010 |
Festival de Musique , Auch, 'Eclats
de Voix |
a ten day festival of the voice in venues around
the region - Auch Cathedral, the Cistercian abbey at Flaran, the Mairie
theatre in Auch - from baroque to the Beatles - see www.eclatsdevoix.com.
|
| July 13th to 18th 2010 |
Country Music Festival at Mirande |
second weekend of July - country
music festival with performers
from around the globe. 2010 will see Alison Arngrim from 'The
little house in the prairie' as godmother of the festival - see www.country-musique.com.
Line dancing, 4+4 rally, hot air ballooning and many other
attractions - a great Festival. |
| July 22nd to 25th 2010 |
Tempo Latino at Vic-Fezensac |
three day festival of salsa and
other latin music. Concerts as well
as music in the street at all hours - see www.tempo-latino.com |
| July |
Festival of Caribbean music at Vic Fezensac |
a smaller music festival but no less
enjoyable! |
| July |
Wakeboard Championships of France, Marciac |
a must if this is your passion. |
| May to September |
Novillada at Vic-Fezensac and elsewhere |
the opening of the bullfighting season in the
area takes place over the Pentecost weekend in May. A 'passion' for many
Gascons, tickets are difficult but not impossible to obtain. There are arenas in 21
Gersoise villages and events throughout the summer showing both
the traditional bullfighting and 'course landaise', the latter more
light-hearted where the bulls are not killed. |
| July - September |
Festival l'été photographique de Lectoure |
the festival takes the form of workshops,
conferences and an exhibition of photography - see www.lectoure.fr |
| July |
Fête Médiévale at Larressingle |
held in this gem of a fortified medieval
village, the festival recreates life in the middle ages, complete with
working siege machines - 4th weekend in July - see http://larressingle.free.fr/ |
| July |
Danse à Flaran, Valance-sur-Baïse |
a three day festival of dance which takes
place at the magnificent 12th century Cistercian Abbaye de Flaran, like
many of the monuments of the Gers, a stopping place for the pilgrims to
Compostello - see www.fources.fr/abbayeflaran |
| July |
Rock'in Condom |
a two day festival of rock music. |
| 30th July to 15th August
|
'JIM' - Jazz in Marciac
Programme and tickets available from April.
2010 programme includes Diana Krall, Jamie Calum,
Ahmad Jamal, Marcus Miller, Didier Lockwood, Richard Galliano, McCoy
Tyner, Roberto Fonseca, John Zorn and many others
|
Taking place during the first two weeks of
August, this is an
internationally renowned festival of Jazz attracting such names as Dee
Dee Bridgewater, Nina Simone, George Coleman, Oscar Peterson and the 'godfather' of the
festival, Wynton Marsalis of whom there is now a statue in the town. Ticketed concerts every day in the big top and arena and 'free'
jazz and master classes all day in the town square. Just being there is a
great experience! For further information, see www.jazzinmarciac.com |
| August - 1st week |
19th Marionette Festival at Mirepoix
and surrounding villages. Bus takes you to various sites in the
villages. Marionette market and workshops as well as
performances. |
A favorite with the children |
| August |
Festival International du Ciel et de l'Espace
at Fleurance |
Now in its 20th year, this festival is a week
of conferences, workshops and hands-on astronomy. It takes place
at the Centre of Astronomy for the region at Fleurance which is linked
to the Observatory and Astronomy Centre at Pic-du-Midi in the
Pyrénées, opened to the public in 2000. Includes sessions at the
Hameau d'etoiles, an isolated village where you can star-watch with the
sky unpolluted by town lights - see www.festival-astronomie.com. |
| August |
Musiques Médiévales at Sarrant |
7 day celebration of music from the middle
ages - openair concerts and ancient & choral music in the church -
see www.sarrant.com/festival. |
| September |
Grand Prix Auto at Albi |
The most important of the car race meetings at
Albi which, together with the race circuit at Nogaro, holds meetings
throughout the year. |
| September |
Festival Médiévale at Roquelaure |
three day festival of everything from the
'dark ages' including floodlit theatre against the imposing backdrop of
the old village, plus side shows, performers, contests, openair eating
and much more. |
| September |
EXPO Gascogne, Auch |
regional agricultural and trade fair |
| September |
Horse race meeting, Auch |
the biggest race meeting of the season at the
Auch Hippodrome, including the climax of the 'trotting' races - for
details of this meeting and others throughout the year see - http://www2.lescourseshippiques.com/hippodrome/609/auch.html |
| October |
Indépendance et Création, Auch |
four day film festival with over 30 films and
round-table discussions. |
| October/ November |
CIRCA - Festival du cirque actuel |
10 day festival of circus with performers from
around the world, including students of the many circus schools and
'pop circus' which is available to all school children see www.circuits-circa.com/home. |
