Eight years since they took place. The fault of Covid which will have brought down the 2020 edition. Eight years is a long time. So, in Brest, impatience begins to be felt. “There is a lack, a need”agrees the mayor of the city, François Cuillandre. “For Brest and Brittany more generally.”
But it is only a matter of days. From July 12 to 17, a new flotilla will descend on Brest. A thousand boats, from the most famous and majestic schooners to the smallest hulls smelling of wood and the passion of sailors, will moor at the city’s quays or anchor in its harbor. And on land, the party promises to be great.
“Maritime festivals are now part of our DNA”, assures François Cuillandre, although he is not very keen on lyrical flights of fancy. We could even go further: these events combining traditional sailing and popular festivals now seem to be a component of Brittany’s identity. From the Gulf of Morbihan to Paimpol, we no longer count these gatherings, often summer, always popular. However, the history of maritime festivals does not go back that far, around forty years at most. And it is in the harbor of Brest that they were born.
Read also: “Brestois”, a new magazine for “Bretons” to discover on newsstands Friday June 28, 2024
From Logonna-Daoulas to Douarnenez
“The maritime festivals as we know them today were born in Pors Beac’h, a small shellfish port in the commune of Logonna-Daoulas, in the 1980s.”, thus describes Camille Gontier. This teacher-researcher…
