"Pour revenir à nos moutons" (to come back to our sheep/business), there are also plenty of other feasts happening all over France, particularly at week-ends to keep the French busy, planning, taking part, eating, dancing etc...
There is la fête patronale, again related to the saint Patron of the village/town or city this time.Sometimes simply because the town/village 's name, economic activities or past history. Originally, it wa a religious feast with special religious service and une kermesse, sharing of food , drinks, music, games etc... to celebrate the Saint Patron and thank him/her for his/her protection. This is slowly loosing its religious connotation but still alive in other shape and forms, especially fairs ("la foire", the fairground type with rides and so on..).
Then there are the myriad of "fête" advertised especially in the summer. Some can be justified :"la fête de la Mirabelle" to celebrate the harvest of the yellow gold plum in Metz,"la fête du citron" in Menton (it does not always have to be food), some are not "la fête des cow-boys" for example!
The "fête" has obviously a committee who plans an array of activities such as un défilé" ( a parade), un corso fleuri ( parade with floats decorated with flowers), un buffet campagnard (local food table), un barbecue, l'élection de la Miss (election of the Queen of ...),races (bikes, boats, sheep, horses), a dance (le bal), light shows (Son et Lumière) and fireworks (feux d'artifice).Plenty to do!
So if you travel to France and see one advertised,it might be a good idea to take the time. If on a small scale, it could give you the taste of "la France profonde" (the deep/real France).
