the essential
On Saturday October 5 and Sunday October 6 at the performance hall, the Book Festival’s theme was: gluttony. We salivate over the pages and animations.
The transition from the Book Fair to the Book Festival is not a subtlety of language. It carries a reality: beyond the presence of authors, exchanges and other dedications – obligatory figures of the genre – the Festival, refocused for several years on youth and teenagers, offers something to “have fun” according to the preface by Martine Souquet, which is based on “the cathartic role of purging the passions” that Aristotle attributed to reading. Said more simply: we have fun at the Book Festival. Everything is done to contribute to this with multiple activities adapted to all ages. For example: three scenographies for a treat (the theme of the year) driven by Margaux Ollivier, Alma Kaiser (artist and graphic designer) and Hannah Magno (photographer but not only). Around twenty authors and illustrators – some from very far away, which demonstrates the attractiveness of the festival – await families who take their time before choosing and inheriting a personalized dedication.
Abundant and unpredictable
The festival also includes exhibitions: “in the air” where Jon Von Hollebem, who created the poster for the event, crosses the desert on the back of a dog, Filante by Marion Jamault where we dive into the production of a short film, and Pop-Up where the jack-of-all-trades Philippe Ug shakes up the boundaries between genres. The show “Le Chat d’Achille”, by the Compagnie Au Petit Théâtre des Ombres, was inspired by the work of Johan Leynaud, winner of the Early Childhood Book Prize. Gaillac schoolchildren were able to see it in preview and had a great time (Saturday October 5, 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.). During the festival, you can stroll “en Fromagie” with Bernard Friot for a reading-tasting (Friday October 4 at 8 p.m.) or see “Trente-six Chandelles”, a performance reading by Marie-Sabine and Cécile Elma Roger ( Saturday October 5 at 11:30 a.m.), experience thrills with Tonnerre de Mammouth, a participatory comic book reading (Saturday at 6 p.m.), take part in a reading aloud competition (Saturday at 4 p.m.); at a comic reading (Alma Liberté Sunday 2:30 p.m.) or at the Malle aux Histoires (Saturday 4:30 p.m.). The Gaillac Media Library goes beyond its walls to offer a corner of readers and games, Gwendoline Soublin announces a Fiesta for the 10th anniversary of Nono… And for those who want more, the animation workshops provide material to operate the brains: Battle told (Saturday 2:30 p.m.) launches the challenge of the most beautiful story accompanied by Nathalie Somers and David Bry, Philippe Ug (Saturday 11 a.m.) and Elena Selena (Sunday 10:30 a.m.) opened the unfathomable world of pop -Up. Children will be able to make frescoes (prehistory, Ulysses, Arcimboldo), manga improvisations, reading-writing exercises. The Book Festival is abundant and unpredictable: this is its charm and the recipe for its success.
