The Beloved Fete

Every summer, Ambialet puts on a festival for anyone who cares to join in on the fun!   These festivals, or “fetes” as they are better known in the South of France, have been celebrated since the Middle Ages.   Having used to take place in October, Ambialet’s annual fete now occurs during the first weekend of August. 

It has been explained to Saint Francis Students by two of Ambialet's locals, Mamie and Christiane, that for years, around two hundred people from the village and elsewhere have made their way to Ambialet’s center square to enjoy the music, dancing, and traditional dishes of the region.  Historically, musicians would visit each home in the village prior to the day of the festival, offering wine or flowers to each of the households in exchange for a donation to support the construction of a stage to be used for dancing.  The traditional fete also included the crowning of a “King of the Youth”--a tradition that was not begun until after the Albigensian Crusades as a form of resistance towards and a way to poke fun at the French king who nobody in the south particularly cared for.  Besides the crowning of this "King of the Youth" were a variety of fun activities organized solely for the children that incorporated running races and water games.

Fetes have changed dramatically over the years, but the idea of having annual gatherings remain.  Today, the fete in Ambialet begins on a Friday by serving a traditional meal to all in attendance.  The menu consists of a half melon with pork; country ham; potatoes that have been chopped and stewed with ceps (the local mushroom); duck leg; Roquefort cheese; and tarte a pommes (apple tart).  The following day, a disco and fairground is set up in the village square; Sunday concludes the festival with a firework display.

For a personal account of the fete experience, you might try reading a blog post written by one of the Saint Francis students or watching this clip.  During one of their first weekends in Ambialet, the Saint Francis group was invited to a fete in the neighboring village of Saint Michel; a great time was had by all!

[Interview conducted on 13 November 2010 with Mamie and Christiane].