the essential
Every year since 2015, the Manouch’Muzik festival in Mazères has brought together many dedicated volunteers. As the event approaches, which takes place from August 15 to 18, everyone is working hard to ensure that the four days of concerts go as smoothly as possible.
So that the songs of the gypsy music of the Manouch’Muzik festival can take off from Mazères from August 15, many volunteers commit themselves throughout the year. No fewer than forty of them are fully invested, so that big names such as Bekar or Juana Amaya are on the bill for the event. But if each year the festival seeks to improve, the spirit of the team remains the same. According to Jean-Louis Sorel, president of the association: “There is a soul, a desire to do well and to give to others”. Everyone strives to beautify the places, improve the structures or expand the culinary and artisanal offers on the stands.
Manouch’Muzik can thus count on the experience of the old ones as well as the energy of the new ones. However, they all have one thing in common: they must commit for the year. There are therefore few external volunteers and the only ones admitted during the festival are a few close friends, who only come to give a helping hand. The important thing for Jean-Louis Sorel, “is that there is always a whiff of solidarity, even when we don’t know where it will lead us”.
Social bonds above all
In order to keep the common thread throughout the year, the association organizes at least three other events, such as the program launch party and the music festival. To do this, the volunteers are divided into different committees. Some of them directly get involved in the DIY workshop. Last Tuesday, part of the team built a new arch for the entrance to the festival grounds. Then, the general organization of the place is deployed a week in advance. This commitment is above all an opportunity to create social ties, assures the president of the association, for whom “few are those who came for the love of music, but mainly for the connections created”.
But it is also time to take on new challenges, such as the associative restaurant. With six dishes on the menu, the volunteers serve nearly 500 meals during the festival, while managing the reception of the public, the artists and the refreshment bar. “We all impose a certain level of demand on ourselves and we are all proud of the final result,” concludes Jean-Louis Sorel.
On D-Day, the festival is organized between two stages. The first, at the Parc du Chalet Pasteur, offers free shows, and the second, at the Mazères covered market halls, welcomes more prestigious artists. Violin makers and around fifteen exhibitors will also be present. For August 15, the volunteers will have to give their all again: the reception of almost twice as many people in the halls is newly planned.
