The Festival of Sheep - Seix - June 15, 2024

Evie is excited to write this blog today because it was a pretty exciting adventure today.

We woke up really early this morning because we had to get to the town of Seix (Yes, it's pronounced "sex") by 9:00 AM. 

We parked right before this sign indicating the entrance to town. (BTW the sign that says "Extinction de l'éclairage Public means that the town turns off its public lighting, like street lights, after 10 PM as an energy-saving effort. We have seen this sign in most of the towns large enough to use streetlights in this region.)

Everyone  was still really tired. We had an hour and a half drive, heading west into the Pyrenees in rather "iffy" weather. When  we arrived there was a man who was getting ready to block the road into town. We talked him into letting us continue driving into the town, by telling him we needed handicapped parking. He finally told us to hurry up and go through his barricade. We parked on the sidewalk near a house and walked the last 2 blocks to the main square along a fast-flowing river called the Salat River. (Which explains why this area is called the "Haut Salat" meaning "Upper Salat". 

Today is the "Fête de Transhumance" in Seix which is when sheep and cows are herded right through the streets of town. That's when the shepherds move the sheep and cows from their winter pastures in the valley up to the mountains. It sounds like quite a festival with bands, dancing, food, and the parade.

The first thing we saw was the sheep-shearing demonstration. The sheep were very calm after having their feet tied up. Then they sheared the wool off them and when they were done, they untied the sheep and chose another one to shear. Penny and Evie got a souvenir tuft of wool to take home with them.

There's a way to shear the sheep so the wool comes off in one big blanket.

Evie's tuft of brown wool from the sheep shearing

They use a tool that looks like an electric hair trimmer. 

You can see the wool from a white sheep and most of the wool that has been cut off the brown sheep

One sheep has been sheared, the other yet to be sheared.

After the sheep-shearing was done, we heard the start of a band, so we went over to take a peek. The street was open but the sidewalks were were full. Good thing, because the band was in the middle of the street. This band was called Los Novillos and were from Boulogne-sur-Gesse, two hours northwest of Seix. They are a local community band and so you will see people of all ages in this band.

Banda Los Novillos

Even the young can play in a local band!

Then we heard the drummers, an enthusiastic band from Barcelona, called NexArt. They were loud and noisy. If you want to hear what they sound like, and see how they dance down the street, check out this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbIfN3fOwcs

The man responsible for telling the groups when and where to play is on the right side of the picture.

This parade wasn't like our US parades. It was like a weird circle around the square where the entertainers would perform in spaces that were open. Then they would march a little ways to another spot a little ways away and play some more. We were very confused because people kept moving around following the entertainers, and standing in front of the people on the sidewalk. 

People following the band

People watching the folk dancers

Some people stayed in their spots, like us, but not all. Evie was very antsy to go see all the performers and also confused. But we were in a good spot where she could run from one performance area to another. We were standing on the sidewalk by the river where we could see across the river and also the spots around the square.

It turns out the only parade like we know is when the sheep and crazy cows passed through the streets. Otherwise it was a swapsies for the entertainers and parade watchers. But we were in a pretty good location where you could stand on the wall to get a better view or walk over to see a different group performing.

the river Salat, where we were standing

Papa standing on the corner

Evie's favorite group was the group of majorettes (baton twirlers). Papa was impressed that they could all throw their batons in the air at the same time and all catch it. I liked how young some of the kids in the group were and that all the dancers were young people. This group was from Lavelanet, not too far from where we're staying.

Evie's second favorite group was the NexArt drummers. They were very energetic and loud and very organized. They played together which made it sound like one loud drum beat every time they hit the drum. 

There were 2 bands from the region. One of the bands was Los Soupaeros. They're a college band from Toulouse. They reminded Katie of the UW Marching Band - enthusiastic and full of crazy fun, but good musicians. Not only did they play lots of times while we were waiting for the sheep parade, but they also played until about 2:00 for the people eating lunch at the fest. 

There were also some unusual entertainers. The dancing dads (that's what we called them - their shirts said les Majorets) were really funny. They were a group of men who dressed up like women cheerleaders. But they had beards!

There were also guys dressed up like funny looking shepherds. They wore big cow bells on their butts and made a jangling noise when they marched down the street. They were around whenever the sheep and cows were moving (and mooing) through town.

The sheep are herded through town.

lots of sheep!

The cows are less cooperative than the sheep -

they walked all over each other

and needed shepherds to keep them away from the crowds

We couldn't tell exactly when the parade was over, but after the cows, people started moving toward the food tents, so we went too. We had bought tickets for a lunch. We waited in a long line, but the food was worth waiting for. Melon with prosciutto, rice and a delicious beef stew, and a tasty apple pastry for dessert. We sat at long tables with all the other people having lunch and it was fun for Grandma to talk French to the people across the table from us. 

Everyone found good stuff to eat at this meal.

After lunch, we walked back through the town square and stopped to visit the cows who were now penned into the square. We were a bit confused that they were still in town, but then guessed that they might move the cows by truck in a modern way.

The cows were corralled on the town square.

Things seemed pretty quiet so we walked back to the car for the ride home. 

We left just in time. It started sprinkling, then raining. We saw a lot of Alex bridges (bridges that look suspicious, but Uncle Alex would drive across them anyway.) 

By the time we got home, the rain had stopped. So Papa, Katie, and Randy went for a hike to Manses (3.6 miles round trip). 

When they got home Papa started dinner and we went to bed at a more regular time. Tomorrow we will conquer another castle, so we need our rest.

Edited by Evie and approved for publication.