La Fête de la Musique takes place on the summer solstice each year and is a chance for musicians of all sorts to perform throughout France and for people everywhere to enjoy their performances. The basic concept is that anyone can play as long as they perform for free. As a result, you'll see young kids playing music on the street corner, DJs spinning in front of storefronts, and more famous acts performing on stages sponsored by the city. What I found so pleasant is that nearly every street in the downtown area of Toulouse was filled with people having a good time and enjoying the different kinds of music being played. It was great to walk around too without having any cars to deal with! And unlike Bumbershoot and Folklife, in Seattle, the festival isn't confined to just one location--it really permeates throughout the town (and the adjacent towns). So you can hang out in your neighborhood and enjoy the local music (perhaps your neighbors, even) or step out into the center of town. My cousin in Paris said that the city hall of each arrondissement has a stage set up and it becomes a big neighborhood celebration. Towns of all size celebrate the music festival in their own ways. It's really a nice tradition that I hope makes it State-side. Apparently la Fête de la Musique is a relatively recent event (less than 30 years old) so it's not something that's been going on in France for very long either. I heard that London and NYC were having such festivals this year so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Unfortunatly, neither Katie nor I remembered to bring our cameras! I really regret doing that as I would have loved to share some photos with you.
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