Paris Insights - The Blog

Carnival and parade were themes for a marvelous party held under sunny skies at a shady park called Square de la République in the city of Montreuil today. I first learned of the event when I was searching the Internet for the performance dates of a fanfare funk band called Tarace Boulba, and learned that it would be performing at the parade.

I arrived at the square at around 1:00 p.m. and entered into a beehive of activity. There were little kids running around in face paint and costume and playing old-fashioned arcade games whose names I didn’t know. There was a table set up where yassa (chicken cooked in onions) was served with white rice. And there was a stage where musicians were setting up for an evening performance.

All of this was organized by an association called Sacamalices 93. One of the adults present told me that the carnival had not been held for several years because of lack of funding. But they made up for it this year!

At 2:30 p.m., kids and their parents, most in colorful costume, lined up, ready to march into the street under police escort. The fanfare funk band took its place at the head of the line and the parade started off through the streets of Montreuil. A second brass band followed at the rear of the parade.

What fun!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 29th, 2011 at 17:49 and is filed under festivals, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.