How to hold a French village fete

A French village fête

All summer long, in villages and towns all over France communities take the time to get together and enjoy a moment of conviviality. I have been part of the organising team for one of these fêtes on the 15th August in our village for the last six years and it's always a very enjoyable day.

Here is how it's done. Take an open space in the village; we use our pretty park with children’s play area behind the church.

A buffet of shared dishes

Add some tables and benches (most communes have a stack of these in a garage somewhere) and invite the villagers to bring along a dish to share and some drinks.

Games for young and not so young

Add some games, we put up a badminton net and leave various bats, balls, racquets and shuttlecocks out for people to help themselves to, as well as organising a few games like sack races, egg and spoon races and easy cricket.

Petanque court

The park has it's own petanque court and there is never a shortage of players for a friendly game after the meal. I say 'friendly' but it's actually taken quite seriously!

Table tennis is big in France

The park also has it's own table tennis table and there were some quite fast paced games played out during the afternoon. What is essential is to be able to laugh, chat and enjoy yourselves in the company of your neighbours and that costs nothing but a bit of time and little bit of effort. Once the homemade Pineau was poured for the aperitif there was no shortage of laughter at our little fête yesterday.

This post has been linked to The Lou Messugo All About France blog link. Click here to read more.