150th Granville Carnivalfestive and creative

150th Granville Carnival

In 2024, Destination Granville Terre et Mer will be celebrating the 150th Granville Carnival. Special events – including mapping and a fireworks display – are planned for the occasion, as well as traditional events linked to the town’s history. Because it’s not widely known, but its existence stems from cod fishing, and the big party ashore before setting sail for Newfoundland. The Festival des Voiles de Travail will be making this its main theme this year, after the centenary of the Marité, the last French Newfoundlander, in 2023. The values cherished by the Granville Carnival, which earned it UNESCO intangible heritage status in 2016, have been emulated by other events since the 19th century, in particular its humorous and satirical nature, such as the crazy summer festival A fond la Cale.

From January, Destination Granville Terre et Mer will be slowly getting into the spirit and colours of the 150th Granville Carnival.

From January 16 to February 16, the region’s 7 media libraries will be presenting an exhibition on the first Granville Carnivals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

On 19 January, “Gens de Granville”, a series of booklets published by the City of Granville, will devote a special edition to the local volunteers who have been involved in the Carnival for generations.

At the same time, a publication on Joseph Bonnot, the oldest carnival-goer, nicknamed “the Governor of Granville”, who died in 2021, will appear. This posthumous publication is the work of Jacques Bougeard and has been reviewed by Jean-Louis Goëlau. The 2 of them had already co-written “Un carnaval à l’Unesco” in 2020, which followed on from “Mémoires de carnaval”, published in 2003.

During the Granville Carnival, in addition to the traditional events, a number of highlights are planned to celebrate the 150th anniversary:

Mapping, a light projection accompanied by music on the history of the carnival will take place on Friday, Monday and Tuesday for around ten minutes on the façade of Granville Town Hall.

A fireworks show entitled “Le Roi” (The King) by Bagad Brieg on Saturday at 7.30pm in the Cours Jonville: fire jugglers, giants and a tribe of people dressed up in costumes to mark the death of their King. Electric guitars, bass and drums mark the rhythm of the ceremony. “The king is dead, long live the king!” thundered the master of ceremonies as the young king on his throne, carried by his guard, made his way through the astonished faithful.

A montage of archive footage of the Granville Carnival and its previous editions is currently being edited and will be shown on the podium screen on the Cours Jonville at all times.

Interview

The next King of Carnival

You’re not allowed to tell us your name, but can you give us a few hints? What do you have that sets you apart from your predecessors?
Is there something special about me? Are you kidding? I’m the King of the 150th Carnival, I’m the very definition of the French exception: boorish, slovenly, rude and in bad faith. My predecessors have been bad over the last 150 years, reigning for just 5 days per earthly revolution: I assure you I’ll do better than them! However, without being cowardly, I can’t announce my name without running the risk of losing my head before I’ve even had a chance to reign over my home town of Granville! But I’ll choose my name according to what’s happening at the time, as has almost always been the case. And once I’m known, you’ll be cheering me with trumpets and drums!

What special things will you be doing during your reign, which comes just in time for Granville’s 150th Carnival?
Panem et circenses! Buns and fat days! It’s time to prepare my Granville kingdom! Get your confetti ready, your floats ready and your masks ready. I’m the king, and I want a merry bazaar, a madcap parade, acrobats from France and Navarre, Albion’s harlequin, the golden calf and the roasted pig.and the pope of confetti, a mother-in-law’s tongue on my cod’s head, and all of this with panache as told by our survivors of the galerne: It’s as good as any reign programme!

What do your subjects, and visitors from outside the kingdom,have to do to welcome you?
They must submit to and accept my carnivalesque monarchical regime. The Mayor must bow out and hand over the keys of his city to me for these 5 days of celebration and, more importantly, until my death! The marching crowds are to meet me on Friday for musical agape, on Saturday for children’s festivities, on Sunday for family revelry, on Monday for wild dancing, and on Tuesday for everyone to counter my inevitable judgement! My very loyal subjects, Granvillais from here or Carnavaliers from elsewhere, will you be ready?

A humorous, even caustic look at carnival-goers

The Granville Carnival has its own unique characteristics, and was very early on considered to be one of the gayest in France.
Derision: an evolutionary constant The Granville Carnival has changed over time. The circle of participants, originally
originally made up of members of the various districts of Granville, has gradually expanded to include the surrounding communes and groups of individuals. The number of floats in the parade has increased. The festivities that make up the parade have also evolved. Today, there are fewer balls than in the past, but they have given way to other events, making Carnival evolve with the times. However, since its very beginnings, the Granville Carnival has reflected the local population’s interest in local life. It’s a unique opportunity for participants to express themselves, by making fun of events, the decisions of the Town Council and current affairs, through the creation of ever more imaginative floats, modules and costumes.

Views on everything
Despite several attempts to impose themes on the cavalcade (1921, 1928, 1936, 1955 and 1962), this practice was not adopted.
retained. The people of Granville demand freedom of expression! While the floats initially interest the spectator through their general visual appearance, each module, each detail of which they are composed, including the drawings made around the edges of the floats, are an integral part of the humour with which the carnival-goers express their points of view.
What’s more, from the earliest days of Carnival right up to the present day, carnival-goers are delighted to explore the French language. The titles of the
The titles of the floats, and the slogans written on the floats or spoken during the cavalcade, help to mock not only local news, but also national and international news.

Satire remains a constant, and one of the most important features of the Granville Carnival.

Good to know: the storylines

It’s an original and special tradition that brings the Granville Carnival to a close. The principle is simple: during the evening of Mardi Gras, you have to disguise yourself without forgetting to hide the most visible and identifying elements (hands, jewellery, etc.), change your voice and
go out alone or with friends to intrigue people you know in the street, at their homes, in restaurants, etc. You need to talk to them about
things in common, and above all not be recognised! Some people change costumes several times during the evening to succeed, and have become masters of the art!

Other themes in the 2024 press pack

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