October Festivals
|
The riches generated by the Summer sun are the focus of many festivals across Europe this month. Celebrate the grape harvests in the mellow, warmth-soaked vineyards of Germany, Italy and France, the indulgent Slow Food Festivals in Milan, Turin and O Grove, the Perugia and Paris chocolate festivals, the Alba Truffle Festival, Armagnac's annual showcasing event, the various Chestnut festivals (such as those in Sauveterre de Rouergue and Mourjou, France) and Helsinki's Herring Festival, to name a few. At home in the UK, you'll find the Melton Mowbray food festival and various gourmet diversions in honour of seasonal joys such as oysters (in Falmouth and Colchester, cider and pumpkins. For a serious, large-scale pumpkinfest, go to Keene in New Hampshire – and to combine them with Hallowe'en, head to New York for the Hallowe'en parade, or to Chalindrey in France, where the Fete des Sorcieres focuses on the original pagan symbolism. The Fantasy Festival in Florida is the world's biggest Hallowe'en bash – but there's plenty else to party about in the warmer parts of the world: Hawaii's Aloha Festival is a great way to learn about a new culture whilst indulging in gorgeous seafood, sunshine and a spot of hula, the Cirio de Nazare in Brazil is a riotous fiesta, Melbourne Arts Festival offers a refreshingly varied range of international dance, theatre, music and visual arts and Diwali fills India and Nepal with colour, light and activity. |
|
Looking for an Autumn alternative...?
|
Salone del GustoFestivals in Milan, Italy Bring your stretchiest pants to Milan at the end of October for this celebration of Italy’s culinary glories. Buying food and eating it are the main occupations during this five-day festival, and regular meal times are not popular.
The Salone del Gusto Market is a network of interlocking lanes of market stalls, all enticingly named, beautifully laid out and in full compliance with the ‘Slow Food Manifesto’. Quality and taste are no longer the only criteria for the exhibitors; ethical production, fair trade principles and carbon footprints all matter here, and are now of just as much interest to tourists as to the professional visitors, who take the whole experience extremely seriously.
Workshops, talks and tasting lessons provide an educational aspect to balance the itineraries of potential binge-eaters.
The Slow Food manifesto is the principle at the heart of a number of festivals across Europe now, held at different times of year and focusing on various cultural and regional culinary themes.
Review by Photo by flickr user Malcolm M |
|
Fête des VendangesHarvests & Food Festivals in Rhone-Alps, France Although Cotes du Rhône is a popular cheap tipple, the area also produces some of France’s finest vintages and it all begins, of course, with the harvest of the grapes. To celebrate the hard work of the grape-pickers of the village Tain-l’Hermitage coming to an end, and the beginning of the creation of grand crus, you can get hands on, helping to prise the remaining grapes from their stalks. However feel free to sit back and enjoy the festivities of music, dancing and a moonlit flotilla parade through the town, which all kick off with an aperitif at 11am. There are also leisurely games of petanque (bowls), a more heated wine tasting competition and all the high point of the celebrations is the crowning of the Queen of the grape harvest. All this is accompanied by a soundtrack of slurping, chewing and the laughter of people who have been drinking wine all day.
Review by Photo by flickr user batega |
|
Fete des SorcieresTraditional in Champagne, France The 13th century town of Chalindrey is just as heritage-conscious on Hallowe'en as it is during the rest of the year, and the Fete des Sorcieres will be a delight to anyone fascinated by the pagan and Celtic origins of the festival, or to those who are simply bored of having their front doors egged for not giving sweets and money to teenagers.
Witch hunts took place here in the 1500s and the nearby Cognelot Fort, dating back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, is said to be haunted, so there are plenty of spooky stories attached to the place, and you can hear them told (among others) in the evening, as well as watch a Celtic dance, see creepy films, have your face painted, enjoy seasonal goodies and wander the exhibition at the fort.
Review by Photo by www.tourisme-langres.com |
|
Perugia Chocolate FestivalFood in Perugia, Italy An unbeatable combination of famous Umbrian hospitality and world-class culinary professionalism, the Eurochocolate Festival and Awards descend on this Medieval city of amber-coloured walls, meandering streets and densely-packed, glorious religious art and architecture in a wave of finely-crafted decadence. All the main piazzas and many central streets are scattered with stalls selling chocolate, blended into ice creams, cakes, pastries and even savoury dishes as well as in its unadulterated form. It's used as an artistic medium, discussed in great depth at chocolate forums, experimented with in laboratories and celebrated at banquets, tasting sessions and exhibitions every day for over a week in October. There are also plenty of learning opportunities, so you 'll be able to leave knowing how to taste and cook with chocolate, and how to create your own little endorphin-boosting artistic masterpieces.
Review by Photo by flickr user Salvatore88 |
|
Mourjou Chestnut FestivalFood in Midi-Pyrenees, France The village of Mourjou en Chataigneraie takes its Autumn harvest of chestnuts and apples very seriously, since so many traditional harvests such as these have been ousted from the region by more lucrative, modern farming methods. In preserving its heritage via the annual October ‘Foire a la Chataigne', Mourjou has created a splendid event, which has begun to tempt visitors from all over Europe.
The apples are chiefly made into cider, which is liberally imbibed throughout the two-day fair as an accompaniment to various types of local chestnutty delights, such as breads, pastries, desserts, honey, preserves and pickles, which can all be purchased at the market alongside gifts, sculptures and furniture made of chestnut wood. You can even join in with the chestnut harvest if you wish – or just grab a bag of simple roast chestnuts and enjoy them whilst watching the street performers and live music acts.
Review by Photo by flickr user x-eyedblonde |
|
Baltic Herring FestivalFood in Helsinki, Finland The inhabitants of Helsinki grow up eating as many herrings as you do hot dinners. Finnish herring are smaller and more delicate in flavour than those we find in the shops at home, due to the Baltic Sea's comparatively low salt content. They're normally sold at Kauppatori Market on the marina, where fishermen come to sell their wares directly from their boats and the market stalls stock all other kinds of groceries besides – but during the Silakkamarkkinat's festival time, it's all about herring. The fishing season draws to a close in October, and the huge, final catch is sold off all at once in a vast smorgasbord of fresh, salted, pickled and marinated options. Just so long as you like herring, you can choose between mustard, citrus, garlic, chili, herb and fruit flavours. Eat them on the go, as they are with a wedge of local, dark bread or enjoy them as part of the seasonal restaurant fare in a bewildering selection of dishes.
Review by Photo by flickr user Ixtla |
|
Keene Pumpkin FestivalTraditional in New England, United States If there's such a thing as too many pumpkins, this may well be the place to find it. Every year, just a few days prior to Hallowe'en, Keene welcomes a congregation of at least 24 thousand pumpkins, if not more. The organisers have been trying to generate a flock of thirty thousand for some years now, in order to win the accolade of the largest ever number of lit, carved pumpkins in one place, so if you go, be sure to bring one and register it at one of the booths set up specially for the purpose of counting the swarm of grinning creations. If you forget yours, there's even a stash kept specifically for those who commit the faux-pas of turning up pumpkinless – so you'll have chance to carve one at the last minute and maybe save the day! If the record isn't broken, you'll hardly leave feeling short-changed in terms of gourd-related experience. As well as hoards of jack-o-lanterns, there will be pumpkin-seed-spitting contests (if that's your sort of thing), craft stalls, live music, a firework display, carved gourd exhibitions, Hallowe'en games, a costume parade and of course, a great deal of pumpkin pie!
Review by Photo by flickr user hlkljgk |
