The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #161928   Message #3868234
Posted By: Thompson
25-Jul-17 - 11:43 AM
Thread Name: Any Mudcatters in Paris?
Subject: RE: Any Mudcatters in Paris?
Went and it was really nice. How much rubbish at the end of a four-day festival with several thousand people? Not one single scrap. Six dance floors, beautiful dances (including classes) from all over France plus Italy, England, Israel, Canada, brilliant bands including Faburden, Ormuz, Máirtín O'Connor Band, Luc Arbogast (see Game of Thrones!) etc; many stalls where instrument-makers sold their handmade professional musical instruments ranging from vielle and cornemuse to harps, etc, etc; camping (well organised and comfortable) in tents and campers in two clean empty fields - hundreds of musicians gently jamming in ad hoc or organised bands and people dancing to their music; the soft sound of traditional French music all day and night except between around 5am and 10am (much nicer than it sounds). It only costs something like €18 a day to attend, and if you wanted you could probably get accommodation in the nearby town of La Châtre. All organised around an ultra-romantic 14th- (13th?)-century castle, a haunt of the novelist George Sand in her day. Highly recommended if you want a festival to go to next year.

You can also volunteer (look for "benevole" on the website) and get in for free in exchange for six hours' work per day; you get a nice lunch and dinner with wine if you do this.