In the city center of Saint-Dizier, it was the return of the Sainte-Catherine Fair, Saturday November 23. With more than 175 exhibitors, from avenue de Belle-Forêt-sur-Marne to avenue de la République, and a regular crowd from morning to evening, this 2024 vintage is very positive.
Saturday November 23, 4 a.m. While the last sounds are played at Pier 23, a completely different music resounds in the Bragard city center. The technical services are already hard at work installing the perimeter of this new edition of the Sainte-Catherine Fair, an institution at the end of November in Saint-Dizier since 1828.
If the initial estimates were of 150 exhibitors, requests have poured in in recent days, pushing the bar to more than 175. Thus, from the end of avenue de Belle-Forêt-sur-Marne to the traffic light intersection on avenue of the Republic, a line of 980 meters, there is not a hole, except to access the shops located on the path. “We are finding pre-Covid standards,” rejoices Tony Vaglio, Events Assistant.
Immersion
Forgotten the snow that fell 36 hours earlier, the weather is cool and dry: “Last year, we had our feet in the water. This year, we are with our hands in our pockets,” comments Christopher Muel, who will host the Fair all day, on the microphone. Coincidence or not, the fact remains that at 11 a.m., there are already numerous visitors in this shopping line. Avenue de la République, the stomach seems hollow for this couple who enjoy raw ham: “Shall we taste another slice to be sure? » In the same area, good deals are made. Stéphane found “a Mario figurine”, the ideal Christmas gift for his little cousin. Perfumes without packaging attract Mélyne and Selma, “just to please themselves”. “Nini” only takes “a little walk, on the way to the bookstore”.
For the lunch break, head to the other end of the fair. In front of the Jard, transformed into a temporary parking lot, most of the food trucks, both sweet and savory, are installed. We find a scent of an Easter fair in particular, with L'Orangerie, the Chanet Collinet house, and, apart from food, the bumper cars, next to the Place de la Liberté. However, some mouths are difficult to please, “there is nothing extraordinary” we can hear from a young retiree, who will opt for a restaurant in the city center.
tombola
The afternoon continues. Rue de la Commune-de-Paris, around ten associations are taking part in the party. Around the City stand where plants and wooden creations are distributed, Arit sells clothes by the kilo, as a rehearsal before the stock clearance on December 7. The Andrée-Guérin refuge is having its Christmas market with decorations, but also drinks and pancakes, like their neighbors, the Ifsi students. On the sidewalk opposite, a touch of wonder grips the children as they climb into the cockpit of a Jaguar, “it’s so good!” “.
The sun is starting to set, it's approaching 6 p.m. Around thirty people joined the town hall for the draw of the large free raffle organized by the City, with the assistance of the Union of Bragards Merchants and the JHM. To draw the winners, Cyril Marchand, president of the UCB, and two local personalities with Madiana Paul, Miss Haute-Marne 2024, and Maurice Chanet, legendary boxer from the Bragarde city, will be the innocent hands. All filmed live on the Saint-Dizier Facebook page.
The fair closes definitively, many traders go the next day to Langres, before continuing towards Vesoul. No fireworks this year, according to our information, it is Saint-Nicolas who will take charge, on December 7, at the foot of the ramparts.
Louis Vanthornout
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The Jaguar cockpit always fascinates. -
Many participants in the big raffle.
