Festivals
Finistère: a festival hotspot
With over 140 festivals and events dotted throughout the year, Finistère’s events calendar is one of the most lively in France.
In 1905, the town of Concarneau opened the way with the Festival des Filets Bleus. The oldest festival in Brittany, it was initially a solidarity event created to help local fishermen, who use the now-iconic blue fishing nets. Almost as old is Quimper’s Festival de Cornouaille, which has been flooding the city with music and traditional celebrations every summer since 1923.
Back in the late 1970s, two cousins from the north of Finistère dreamed of a French Woodstock and they launched Élixir, the very first French rock festival! While this event only lasted 8 years, it opened the door to a host of other events, the biggest of which is Les Vieilles Charrues. Based in Carhaix, this annual music festival is the biggest in France and one of the biggest in Europe, drawing top acts from all over the world.
Something for everyone
Astropolis, Le Bout du Monde, La Fête du Bruit, Le Fest Jazz and Le Festidreuz: these festivals have also carved out a place for themselves on the Finistère scene, bringing together renowned artists every year.
In addition to the huge variety of music festivals, there are many other events throughout the year dedicated to literature, cinema, culture, gastronomy and photography. Douarnenez Film Festival, Mondial’Folk in Plozévet, Printemps de Châteauneuf, Petites Folies in Lampaul-Plouarzel, Silence ça touille in Locronan, Brest en bulle, Festival du Chien Jaune in Concarneau, Médiévales in Saint-Renan, Longueur d’ondes in Brest – you get the idea, there are too many to list, and there’s certainly something for everyone here in Finistère!
