After the official opening at the General Council, it was time for the storytellers! The public gathered at the Maison des Associations on the Quai de l’Adour for the first evening of the 21st edition of the Contes en Hiver (Tales in Winter) festival, featuring Martinican storyteller Valer’Egouy, who had been in residence all week at the invitation of the Ligue de l’Enseignement des Hautes-Pyrénées (Higher Education League of the Hautes-Pyrénées) to fine-tune his latest show. It was a double first: the opening night of the 2016 festival and the premiere of his show, “Bien vivre ensemble” (Living Well Together). A simple “Ye krik, ye krak” was all it took to set the tone for an evening where words transported us like the leaf in the first tale, carried away by the Caribbean trade winds. These stories seemed to emerge from the depths of oral tradition, speaking to us about who we are and how we see others. All of this was accompanied by the percussion, bass saxophone, and clarinet of Pierre Lassailly. A truly wonderful show that immersed us in a warm atmosphere, a welcome contrast to the grayness of this late winter in Tarbes. This lovely atmosphere continued after the performance with an aperitif offered by the Couleur Piment Créole association.
The festival is now well underway, promising ten days of storytelling for everyone throughout the department. Younger children are invited to the Louis Aragon Media Library on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. for "Ti chat pourquoi tu souris?" (Little Cat, Why Are You Smiling?) with Valer'Egouy. It's free! Older children and adults can enjoy a Journey to the Orient with Jihad Darwiche and his daughters at 5:30 p.m. in Soues and then in Séméac.
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