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Out of the 300 giants that exist in the Nord Pas de Calais
area, I am for
sure the one which has travelled the most.
I have always enjoyed travelling. I never say no when invited to
join the parade of one of the numerous events that happen either here (in the North of
France) or in Belgium (which is very near).
In the early 80's I started being invited further away from
home. I was then given the opportunity to visit other French counties, where an enthusiastic audience could discover a Flemish tradition of
which they had had no previous knowledge.
Later on, I travelled to other European countries, such as
Germany, England, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and
Switzerland.
My longest journey was in 1989. I travelled to India and remained there a
fortnight.
My friends and myself, as traditionalists as we may be, are very proud to represent our dear tradition of
the dancing giants, as well as the town of Steenvoorde around the world .
Jean le Bûcheron travels to Belgium
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"Les Amis de Fromulus" and myself regularly travel to Belgium
to produce ourselves in that country which is well known for its numerous
and various festivals.
Not only have we visited the Belgian coast (Nieuwport-Wenduine) and the
Ardennes (Wellin), but we have also been to the capital: Brussels.
In 1991, I was the only French giant to take part in the Giant Festival
organised in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve.
I also produced myself in many Flemish towns (Poperinge,
Veurnes, Nieuwkerke, Werken, Genk,…) and in towns in Walloon (Ath, Quaregnon,…).
In 1998 and 2002, I took part in the Golden Egg Festival in Kruishoutem, in the
Occidental Flemish Province Day.
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Jean le Bûcheron travels to The Netherlands
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I love travelling to the Netherlands ! I always meet a
great audience there.people are very enthousiastic about giants there,
they clap their hands as I danse past them.
I visit my dutch cousins regularly. in 2002, I went to
Bergen op Zoom, then to Losser in 2003 and not long ago, in May, I visited
Venlo.
It was great !
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Jean le Bûcheron travels to Spain
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Twice I have been to Spain, to Catalonia exactly to the small town of
Matadepera. I shall always remember it. Our Catalan friends were just so
warm-hearted and welcoming ….
In 1989, I paraded 4 days long in the Big Festival of Matadepera.
In 1992, I went back! This time I took three of my French giant friends
with me. For the largest gathering of giants that ever took place in the
world. There were 650 of us, from 10 countries; it was huge!
This great experience led me to go to Spain again this
year, but this time I visited another town: Vallgorguina
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I was as happy as a sand boy there.
There were giants as far as my eyes could possibly see!...
Most of my giant friends from Catalonia are younger than I am. They
were not built so long ago. They are often smaller than we French
giants are. Yet, they are carried! All of them!
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Of course, as I am very polite, I invited them back and they came to
all the "European Parades of Dancing Giants"
organised by my friends "Les Amis de Fromulus" in
Steenvoorde.
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From 12th to 15th September 2003, I was in Vallgorguina,
a small catalonian town where I visited my Spanish cousins. My friend
"Le Père Breughel" came along with my musicians and we all had
a great time. |
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We were greeted very warmly and enjoyed ourselves a
lot. My faithful friends, les Amis de Fromulus even took the time to visit
Barcelona to peep at the work of art (Sagrada Familia) of my friend Gaudi
who came to Steenvoorde in 2000. |
Jean le Bûcheron travels to India
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After rambling through the old continent for a while, I travelled
abroad. I joined other groups on their way to India. Indeed, in 1989,
there was the FRENCH YEAR in INDIA which had been organised by both the
French and the Indian governments. Festivals and fairs took place in Dehli
and Bombay thus showing the richness and diversity characteristic of the
French Folklore.
Competing against groups from all over France, I was greatly honoured
when I was chosen to represent my area (Flanders) in India.
Two special containers had to be build so that I could get on the plane
and have a safe journey in the hold. For I was too big to travel in one
piece.
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I spent a week in each one of the two towns, which allowed myself and
"Les Amis de Fromulus" to play tourists and discover this country that is
so different to France.
A few days of rehearsal were needed for the four performances of the
big show that we gave in each town with all the other French groups.
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Dozens of thousands of enthusiastic Indian people could admire me. I
was really proud to represent the town of Steenvoorde so far away.
They nicknamed me
Johnny the Woodcutter.
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BP 41 - 59114 Steenvoorde - FRANCE
Tel/Fax: 00.33.(0)328433216
e-mail: michel.sansen@les-amis-de-fromulus.com
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