With an annual budget of 1.2 million euros, the Cornouaille Festival remains on paper one of the major events of the Quimper summer. This great moment of cultural expression is a showcase of traditional Breton practices, first and foremost a place of pride showing a living culture. But it is also a time of activity contributing to the attractiveness and visibility of Quimper.
“We want to place the festival in the heart of the city, without blocking access to traffic,” confirms Éric Vighetti, co-president of the festival, and also director of the Quimper-Cornouaille tourist office. The entire 2025 edition will therefore be played on the right bank of the city. “We are going to reinstall the stages and locations of the festival between Place Saint-Corentin and Esplanade François-Mitterrand. Visitors need to meet the festival and its regulars,” explains Éric Vighetti.
The governance wants to restore a dance space on the floor on Place Saint-Corentin. With or without a marquee, the decision does not seem to have been made. “There will be another place to dance without necessarily having a floor,” envisages Laure Cavret-Dorval, co-president.
Relocated stands?
The novelty in this reorganization would also be the relocation of the stands from the quays to Place Saint-Mathieu and the banks of the Steïr, between Place Médard and the Providence car park. “We will have to see if it is possible with the Saturday morning market. » Another scene is envisaged at Place Terre-au-Duc. The square in front of the media library and the François-Mitterrand esplanade are also places identified by the organizers.
“We will reuse the Chapeau-Rouge convention center this year for reception, ticketing and the summer university. »
Open the association to more members
This is a bit like the mantra of the new co-presidency embodied by Laure Cavret-Dorval, Lénaïg Le Roux and Éric Vighetti: opening the association, the supporting structure of the Cornouaille Festival, to more goodwill. To do this, those responsible are announcing that they are moving away from the co-optation mode which gave access, hoping in particular to involve some of the 600 volunteers mobilized at the time of the demonstration. Surprisingly, the festival association only has around sixty members to date.
Seventeen working commissions were set up, and led by a historic member of the festival. The new organization provides for a college of ex officio members; having a “consultative and information passing function”. Among these, “the elected officials of Quimper and the representatives of large Breton cultural associations, such as the traditional dance confederation Kenleur, Sonerion, the assembly of bell ringers of Brittany or Ti ar Vro Kemper”.
