Events calendar Archipel de Thau

For more than 20 years, the town of Balaruc-le-Vieux has been organizing its Medieval Festival. During a weekend, the city finds its colors of the past. Numerous companies bring the Middle Ages back to life for the public with encampments, knights' fights, plays, troubadours, weddings, old trades, stalls... There is also a medieval market, with craftsmen and delicious local products. The festivities continue with parades, parades, themed evenings and a closing night with fireworks that illuminate the ramparts.

Every summer, the thermal waters of Balaruc-les-Bains play host to Languedoc jousting tournaments, notably during its annual festival. As in neighboring towns, the tournaments take place in the port. Armed with their spears and bulwarks, the jousters try to knock their opponents into the water, under the wide-eyed gaze of the children and the amused eyes of the older ones. These are not-to-be-missed events when you visit Balaruc and the surrounding area!

In 1629, the jousting tournaments offered a unique spectacle to Cardinal de Richelieu during his visit to Frontignan. This local tradition lives on today, particularly during the Tournament de la Ville on July 14th. Dressed in white, spear and bulwark in hand, the jousters compete to the sound of drums and the Languedoc oboe, in nautical battles in a festive atmosphere. Come and join the crowd on the banks of the canal to applaud them!

For years, the Family Piknik has been a local festival of electronic and underground music that is internationally renowned. On stage, the best DJs succeed one another at the turntables to make thousands of people dance on a life-size dancefloor . Young and old alike meet there and let off steam in rhythm for a moment of pure sharing and conviviality. House, Techno, Deep, Indie, Micro... There is for all the tastes! We have fun in the open air and we can take advantage of the shade of the trees to take a break.

Since 1988, this literary festival is very popular and its godmother is none other than the famous Fred Vargas. This year, the theme "Adventure is adventure" will bring together nearly 35 novelists (literature, youth and comics) of 10 different nationalities for meetings and signings around epics, travels and castles in Spain, quests and escapes, escapes and disappearances. Passionate and curious people will meet great authors of the black novel.

Here is an atypical culinary contest that takes place in a joyful, friendly and festive atmosphere. It is the great intergalactic contest of brasucades which highlights the know-how and the emblematic regional products. The famous Muscatel wine in particular is featured, and we enjoy ourselves in a good mood. The participants in the contest start preparing and cooking their brasucades. Then the tastings are open to the public to choose the winner who then takes home the trophy: a giant mussel. We love it!

A festival created to highlight the thousand-year-old link between the city and its vineyard and its famous Muscat de Frontignan. This event brings together professionals and amateurs in a very friendly atmosphere. For one day, the historic city center becomes a large market of typical tastes and flavors of the region. It is the ideal place to discover and taste all the muscats of Frontignan with gourmet workshops, small chefs workshops, exhibitions, games and animations for children.

The Emmuscades is a series of open-air cinema sessions that take place in the heart of sublime wine estates. This event is organized by the association Hallu'cinés, passionate about cinema, rare and independent films. A little gem, it is a very friendly meeting. Before the projection, the spectators will be able to taste a plate of mussels with a glass of Muscat for the aperitif. The evening can continue around the food-trucks or picnics drawn from the bag. At nightfall, you can sit in front of the screen, under the stars.

Languedocian jousts havetheir roots in Frontignan. They have been evidenced as early as 1627 on Etang d'Ingril. The cardinal of Richelieu, at the time of his visit to Frontignan in 1629, attended the unique show of a tournament of Languedocian jousts. Since then, this local tradition has remained intact. The City's tournament is an opportunity to discover this sport that is very attractive. Two men, the knights of the tintaine, fight in duel. Perched on the tintaine of their boat, with a spear, they must, by striking the shiel of their opponent, bring down this one into water.

The Festival du Roman Noir in Frontignan, with its program of local and international authors and a growing Occitan approach, is a must this summer. For 3 days, enjoy some twenty literary encounters, exhibitions, readings in unusual locations (a boat or even a telephone booth!), literary workshops, book signings and numerous games, competitions and events... And don't forget the 3 evenings of festive entertainment!

Two days for a journey to the time of the Romans. They invite you to immerse yourself in antiquity, on the archaeological site of the Gallo-Roman villa of Loupian, a testimony of the rich local history. The program includes various educational activities: maneuvers and troop clashes, Gallic fencing, gladiator shows... And all day long, continuous activities with many participatory workshops for the young public: mosaics, pottery, tile and brick making, games, writing... and also experimental archaeology.

Be a spectator at another Languedoc jousting tournament, this time in Marseillan! This traditional sport, which has its roots in Frontignan dating back to 1627, has remained intact and is practiced in eight towns in the Hérault and one in the Gard. The fight begins as soon as the oboes and drums sound the charge, and you can then watch, in a traditional musical atmosphere, as the jousters clash, all dressed in white, on their blue and red boats.

In summer, the port of Mèze is abuzz with the excitement of the Languedoc jousting tournaments organized by two local societies: the Nouvelle Lance Mézoise and the Jeune Lance Sportive Mézoise. The four categories (junior, senior, medium and heavy) compete on the water to the delight of spectators! Enjoy these traditional sporting competitions on a restaurant terrace or on the quayside, with an ice cream in hand!

Over the years, the Festival de Thau, created in 2015, continues to grow especially with jazz fans. In places as varied as the Valmagne Abbey, scenes set up in Bouzigues, Frontignan or Mèze, it offers in the last two weeks of July countless concerts of quality. In 2017, for example, we saw Emma Ndobo, Betty Argo, Soyuzz, the White Lady and many others. Names that may not appeal to you, but which fans of jazz and mixed music or Latin rhythms are familiar with. It should also be noted that the Jazzàmèze association, on the initiative of the project, is composed entirely of volunteers. A dancing festival with hot rhythms, in short, perfect for summer. It is attracting more and more people. Will this small festival become a big one? Given the quality of the programming, it's highly possible!

Since 1997, this festival has brought the city of Sète to life with more than 650 poetic and musical encounters, at the rhythm of more than 80 daily meetings in public or private gardens, in squares, in streets transformed for a few days into gardens, on the breakwater, at the Théâtre de la Mer, on a boat... The festival welcomes more than a hundred poets from all over the Mediterranean who are surrounded by numerous artists, storytellers, musicians, singers, actors and visual artists who offer concerts, workshops and exhibitions.