Festivals and cultural events Deux-Sèvres

The Thursday evenings of summer in Niort are spent in music, with friends or family, in the gardens of the Moulin du Roc, discovering the musicians in the making. Neither really a festival nor completely a concert, and a little bit all at the same time, this event is organized by the town hall, offers free to anyone who wants, to attend the musical performances of emerging groups. Every Thursday, thousands of people flock to the banks of the Sèvre niortaise to listen to two groups grouped by theme. Whatever your musical inclinations, keep an open mind and let yourself be carried away by the musical discovery. Taste one or more quality concerts in a green setting under the inevitably clement summer skies, an invitation that can't be refused!

Every odd-numbered year, clowns from around the world gather in Niort for just over a month. You can visit them at home in their village of Duguesclin, then keep an eye on the program between the Niort festival and the caravan that will be criss-crossing the département. A cascade of antics awaits you, as well as presentations of their offbeat, poetic, tender and funny vision of the problems that plague us all, poor humans. Next rendez-vous in 2025.

Every summer, for one week, the Festival in the village makes Brioux-sur-Boutonne and its surroundings vibrate. Listed as a theatrical event, it offers around sixty shows of all kinds, including a traditional circus headliner: dance, readings, concerts, street arts, etc. A programme as rich as qualitative to be found under the central tent, deployed on the Champ-de-Foire square, but also in various cultural places, church, Corderie... Food and drink of course, but also a lot of eco-responsible activities to discover with your family.

Since this summer festival has taken on an almost unexpected dimension, why not get back to the winter. Since 2000, the organizers have had the right idea to offer a second season of life at this event at a time when the game is in the centre of all tastes: Christmas. This time the festival does not span over a week like during the summer period, but it brings back to the front of the scene items that could find themselves at the foot of the tree a few weeks later. The animation lasts only the weekend with the presentation of traditional games and, technology compelling, video games with Saturday a great wanderings in the medieval maze of the city where all those who wish can wear candlelight.

In Ivry, the territory has blues, and blues. This festival offers for four days master classes, but also for the initiations of the children's blues as well as music and, of course, concerts with musicians from all over the world and gathered by their passion for this music from the work songs that we heard in the cotton fields.

In Mauléon, it's a bit of a festival of vocal surprises. Here, the voice is combined in choirs, in duets, it is crazy and/or scholastic. Also, the 2011 edition programmed the Corsican polyphonies of A Filetta, songs committed by Michèle Bernard or the crazy lyric art of Anne Baquet. But also an intriguing Soundpainting workshop...

The village of Saint-Varent encanaille the time of this very nice street arts festival. The shows are essaimés in the most unlikely places, a car garage, for example, with many moments devoted to conviviality, picnics, balls. The festival celebrated its 10 years in 2010.

An institution in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, this ecofriendly festival is dedicated to primitive peoples, contemporary and traditional world music: didgeridoo, beatbox, diphonic singing and more. This family-friendly festival is appreciated for its wide range of activities, including workshops, a baby teepee, a relaxation center, a dream market, conferences and a doggy center (with advice on dog training!). A committed event, it stands out for its handicap and no-alcohol approach. Catering, free camping.

The storyteller Yannick Jaulin has not only initiated a festival here in Pougne-Hérisson, he has created a mythology. According to this mythology, the small village in the Deux-Sévres is the epicenter of the explosion of the Word. Since this big bang, the stories would have spread all over the planet. And would return every two years to their source, during the festival of the Navel of the World. This Genesis has of course given rise to other extravagances in history. This festival has no equivalent in France, you have to go there to believe it!

All theaters, from here and elsewhere, everywhere and for everyone. That's the raison d'être of the Ah association, ardent cultural pillar and programmer of this festival dedicated to the performing arts. Every year, Parthenay's town center is besieged by artists, showmen, circus performers and other acrobats of all stripes working on stage (shows for adults and young audiences). Count on around fifty performances in town and in the countryside. Founded in 2022, Ah? programs year-round at various venues in the surrounding area.