“Welcome on board, tonight we are crossing the channel to France”, now this is sailing! A few moments ago you joined your ship and now the skipper is setting off across the seas. The promise of adventure beckons, skipping across the waves under a moonlit sky to Brittany, and a festival beyond all others, Paimpol folk music and shanty festival. If you’ve a love of music and boats, wooden ones really, then this festival is for you as this is a true celebration of both, as well as the magic of theatre, culture and happiness.
It has been said that the French do public events better than anyone, and this is true here in the charming old town of Paimpol. But you are not the public, you arrive as part of the festival having maybe visited the Channel islands en route, polished the brass and scrubbed the decks in preparation and navigated the English Channel or La Manche. You are now a sailor from another land, someone who is part of something huge and ready for a weekend of world class entertainment.
With 160 bands performing over seven stages, this is an invitation to travel across music of the world. Sea shanties, Breton music and dance, street artists creates the rare fabric of Paimpol, not forgetting expositions, local food producers and some 200 traditional boats creating the perfect backdrop to the event.
Because your ship is the heart of the festival, you are free to come and go as you please, meeting friends, making new ones, stopping for a cider to swap stories or dance the night away until you drop. And the best thing- it’s up to you and your fellow crew how best to enjoy the event.
Within the closing hours of the festival, it’s time to get underway again to rest, sail and relax. Take the helm and discover peaceful meandering rivers and medieval towns or remote islands, perhaps cruise in company with other vessels making their way home. With so much to see and do, you will feel like you have discovered the world on your sailing adventure.
