This post was written by Anaïs Niobey
Maison de Normandie latest shop windows celebrate the 150th Granville Carnival which will be held from 9 to 13 February in Granville (Manche).
The Granville Carnival is a tradition that dates back more than a century, taking place every year during the five days leading up to Shrove Tuesday. The first edition with an organising committee dates back to 1875. The carnival marked the departure for the long and perilous great fisheries to Newfoundland or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, on the other side of the Atlantic. By participating in the festivities of the Shrove Days, the sailors of the deep-sea contributed greatly to the success of the Granville Carnival.
These festivities have continued, and the Granville Carnival has become an unmissable event that brought together 250,000 visitors in 2023. The highlights of the carnival are the satirical and humorous cavalcades made of 45 floats and 3,000 “carnavaliers” (people who participate in the making of floats) who parade, accompanied by brass bands.
Since 2016, the Granville Carnival has been listed as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
We would like to thank the Granville Carnival Organising Committee for its help in the realization of these shop windows and in particular its President, Antonina Julienne, who lent us original posters of the Granville Carnival dating from 1948 to 1953.
Many thanks also to Zoé, Gaylord and Sandrine for the loan of their handmade costumes.
You can buy magnets, posters and postcards from Granville Carnival at La Boutique.
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