Our News

03 Sep 19

The feast of St. Vincent in Collioure from August 14 to 18, 2020

Every year from August 14 to 18, the Saint Vincent Festivals are in full swing for a short week.

Procession of Catalan boats, concerts, bandas, balls, sardanes or street arts ... animate the whole city during these 5 days!
In Collioure, the fireworks do not take place on August 15, but on August 16, the culmination of the Collioure festivities, a magical and grandiose spectacle that illuminates the whole bay (it is reflected in the waters of the harbor illuminating the boats and the Royal Castle).
  • And concerning the history of these festivals, what can we say?

In 1642 the relics of the patron saint of the city, St. Vincent disappeared. In 1701, the morning of August 16, new relics donated by the Pope arrived in Collioure and were transported to the chapel of Saint Vincent or according to legend he suffered martyrdom.

Here is how and why the first Feast of Saint Vincent took place on the 16th of August. From then on, it will be renewed every year on the same date, with the same brilliance.

Without losing their vitality for three centuries, the Feasts of St. Vincent have evolved over time by adapting without ever forgettingtheir origins, to constitute a true Colliourencque tradition!
03 Sep 19

25th Harvest Festival: From October 7 to 11, 2020

The 1st Banyuls Grape Harvest Festival was held on the 3rd weekend of October 1996. This year we are celebrating the 25th edition.
At the start there were several passionate protagonists who wanted to update the harvests of yesteryear.
The couple Monique and Bernard Sapéras: she, a teacher of Banyulencian origin with a bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences and Life, he an Ariège oenologist. Together they settled in Banyuls and took over the Vial-Magnères family estate where Bernard was the first to develop a White Banyuls. Monique had at heart the transmission to the youngest. Wishing that all the children of her school could know the work of the vine and the profession of winemaker, she at the idea of a children's vineyard (see below).
At the same time, Cathy Rousseil-Mucciolo, an elected representative swarming with ideas, proposed to the members of the extra-municipal "Viticulture" commission the project of creating an authentic, popular and convivial celebration around wine, a celebration that the winegrowers could appropriate.She thinks of a tasting in the heart of the village followed by the meal of "glues", which traditionally brings together the pickers to celebrate the end of the harvest. This would not take place in the vineyards or in the cellars as usual but on the beach, in order to open the tables and winegrower traditions to the general public.
This strong symbol of local identity would also be an opportunity to commemorate another ancestral Banyulenque specificity: the transport of the harvest by boat from the steep hillsides with their feet in the water to the village.
The elected communicator's passion won the support of the municipal council gathered around Mayor Pierre Becque, and the party was born.
Since the creation of the Festival, its pillars have been strengthened.
In 1998, the association law 1901 "Banyuls Fête des Vendanges" was created, chaired by Bernard Sapéras, to continue the initial project of "the organization, promotion and animation of the annual Cru Banyuls festival and any other event related to it. "
In 2009 the festival became labeled and the brand "Banyuls Fête des Vendanges" was registered with the National Institute of Industrial Property.
Over the years, with the support of the Winegrowers' Syndicates as well as the financial and logistical support of the successive municipalities of Banyuls, the Fête has evolved a lot and has become both a beautiful showcase for the village and a highlight of life banyulencs.
Today 17 village associations are helping to organize it.
About fifty volunteers work throughout the year so that the 7,000 visitors share, with the winegrowers and the whole village, this great moment of celebration and conviviality.

Find all the information by clicking here.