More than a century old, the Filets Bleus de Concarneau is a major traditional Breton festival traditionally held on the penultimate weekend of August. Make the most of your stay at Le Cabellou Plage campsite in Concarneau to discover the vibrant Breton culture and mingle with thousands of festival-goers.
The origins of Filets Bleus
At the beginning of the 20th century, sardines, an essential resource for the local economy, deserted the coasts, plunging many families into misery. It was then that a factory owner, canner by trade and the town’s chief magistrate, Mr. Billette de Villeroche, proposed organizing a charity festival to help the sailors of Concarn. Launched at the height of summer, the event would be an opportunity to bring together the local population and holidaymakers in a single event. The first Fête des Filets Bleus was held in 1905, taking its name from the color of the nets used by fishermen to trap sardines.
The Filets Bleus committee of the time was partly made up of Concarnois, but also of Parisian notables who discovered Concarneau and its Ville-Close during tourist visits and became very attached to it.
Little by little, the Filets Bleus festival evolved into one of Brittany’s biggest traditional festivals, a veritable showcase for Breton culture and heritage.
The Filets Bleus tradition
From the very first edition of Filets Bleus, it was decided thata queen would be elected to be the festival’s spokeswoman, its ambassador of charm. Originally, the queen was chosen from among the female cannery workers and nominated by her fellow workers. In 1907, a queen’s costume was created to symbolize the title of queen.
Today, recruitment of candidates is much more open, with applicants aged between 17 and 25 living in Concarneau or its immediate vicinity: Trégunc and Melgven. Even today, being queen of the Filets Bleus is a means of social advancement. Indeed, the queen is called upon to represent the town of Concarneau at a large number of public festivals, events and ceremonies.
The queen is assisted in her role by a vice-queen and three bridesmaids. Two of the bridesmaids wear the “Penn Sardinn” headdress, in memory of the cannery workers, while the other two wear the traditional headdress of the inland villages of Melgvenn and Trégunc. The three bridesmaids’ costumes symbolize the association of land and sea, the work of the fields and the fishing trades.
The Filets Bleus festival, an event for everyone
The Filets Bleus festival is a family-friendly extravaganza, supported by over 400 volunteers over 5 days. Every year, more than 70,000 festival-goers gather to promote Breton culture through music, dance, costumes and numerous shows. Renowned artists from the Breton and Celtic scenes perform free concerts. Sunday’s grand parade is the highlight of the festival, bringing together Celtic circles and bagadoù from all over Brittany. Every day, the sea village welcomes you from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and offers a wide range of workshops, activities, games, discoveries and conferences. To round off the festivities, a grand Fest-Noz and fireworks display are organized.
