Festival Inter-Celtique

Every year the Celtic clans and nations gather here in Lorient to sing, dance perform and do what Celts do best - party. Almost a million people from all over the world attend the week long events and around 5000 musicians, dancers and artists keep them entertained. the Grand Parade through the town at the midpoint in the celebrations attracts 100, 000 spectators. for a self confessed Celtaholic this is a cultural feast. The are six established Celtic nations are Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany but they are joined by Galicia and Newfoundland at the festival and swelled by the ranks of the Celtic diaspora from every corner of the planet.

Sadly our adopted home country of Wales was noticeable by its absence, where were the welsh male voice choirs, the storytellers, the artists? All we got was one harpist and a flag. Wales it seems is an exception to the Celtic norm and years of domination of the various chapel movements has robbed it of much of its joy in the name of temperance. there was bigger Canadian and American presence than Welsh.

My spiritual home however was there in numbers - the Irish were as ever at the centre of the party and the craic was ninety. One of the smallest and least known of the nations, Cornwall did itself proud and flew the flag for the male voice choir tradition.

Visiting by boat seemed to add a dimension but we opted out of the marina that is at the centre of the festival in favour of the quiet retreat to Port Louis and a peaceful nights sleep.

This was a highlight and we will be back.