More Fete en Fleurs

This is the float that was put together by the over 60 club in our town. As you can see everyone has to be creative in trying to make a tractor not look like a tractor.

This float was put together by the association for donating blood. They have blood drives here every two months and the nursing staff comes from Toulouse.

This is the float for the rugby club. This area of France is where most of the rugby players are from that play on the French Rugby Team. They start teaching the children rugby when they are six years old. The classes are open to both boys and girls.

The sapeurs (first medical responders) and pompiers (firemen and women) put together this float. The people that are involved with this organization are all volunteers. I can not say enough about all of the work these people do. Many times they are involved in very dangerous operations, especially when it comes to the fires. The number 18 that is on the side of the float is the 911 number here in France.

Fete en Fleurs

The annual Fete en Fleurs was held in L'Isle-en-Dodon on the weekend of 13-14 September of this year. The above photo is of the members of the Patanage (Roller skating) Association in our town. We assembled the carcass for the float starting on 6 Sept, and continuing through the week until it was ready to have the flowers glued on on 12 September.

The white boxes contain the flowers which are grown here in France in Loire Valley. They are shipped on the Friday before the fete to our town and then delivered to the various sites where they will be glued on the floats. This year there were ten floats in the parade and two bands. There is a carnival that sets up in the town for the weekend. On Friday night there is a dance that is the beginning of the fete. Saturday evening the rugby club has a barbecue for the fete. Following the meal there is a show presented on a stage by the mairie (town hall). This years show was a spectacular with orchestra, singers and dancers. After the first three numbers, it started raining and they had to stop the performance, so everyone was disappointed.

The above photo is the completed float. This year the float was the first in the parade, and the winners of the competition for Miss Fete en Fleurs were on the float.

This is the float as we were beginning the parade with the young ladies who won the competition on the float.

On Sunday evening after the parade there was another concert. The show lasted until two o'clock in the morning. On Monday there was a jazz combo that played at lunch time in one of the plaza here in the town. Monday evening there was a fireworks display with music at the lake, and after that a dance that again lasted until the early hours of the morning.