The guide opens at the Abbaye du Relec while there is still light enough to pick out the detail of the site, and sets out its history. The atmosphere shifts once night has fallen. By candlelight the walk becomes a veillée, and the légendes bretonnes take over from the history. The stories told in the dark are the lugubrious ones of Brittany, recounted on the departmental estate at Plounéour-Ménez for anyone from eight upwards.
Region: Brittany
Crazy Lobster composite workshop, Saint-Brieuc
Crazy Lobster shapes technical parts from carbon and glass fibre, a Breton workshop whose first customers were boats. The round crosses the shop floor zone by zone: machining, painting, infusion, sanding. A part is carried from development through prototyping and testing to a finished piece. The firm’s history lies in pleasure sailing and offshore racing, the trade this coast is known for, and that know-how now goes elsewhere in industry.
Conférence-concert de Brieg Guerveno et Maïlys Princé
The Micro-folie at Ploërmel puts a talk and a concert in one evening at Les Carmélites. Maïlys Princé, a Breton content creator from the area, opens on the cultures and languages of Brittany as social media carry them, and on what digital mediation does to intangible heritage. The singer Brieg Guerveno then takes up the question « Pourquoi chanter en langue minorisée ? ». His concert of new work in Breton closes the night.
Le Brut de l’Avette reed workshop, Québriac
Nolwenn Zaour and Simon Froger make anches at Le Brut de l’Avette, the cane reeds that give the bombarde and the veuze their voice. The visit follows one through every stage, from choosing the cane to the adjustments that settle its sound. Wind instruments also come here for repair, so a bench is usually in mid-job. The atelier opens inside the Semaines du Tourisme Économique et des Savoir-Faire, the Breton fortnight of company visits.
Autumn fest-noz for Patrick Galopin, Plouezoc’h
Plouezoc’h holds its autumn fest-noz in honour of Patrick Galopin, and the bill is built the way a fest-noz is built: soneri and kaneri, the pipers and the singers whose playing the dancing follows. The Maison des Associations fills with dancers in sets, behind whichever couple is on. Crêpes go out on site through the evening. The tribute is to a musician the commune knew, which makes this a local gathering and not a programmed concert.
Skol Diwan Kraon ouvre ses portes à Crozon
Skol Diwan Kraon, the École Diwan Naig Rosmor, opens its buildings and gardens in Crozon for guided and self-guided tours. The school teaches wholly through Breton and has for more than thirty-five years, from the Très Petite Section up to CM2. Former pupils and parents come back to give their own account of life after the school, and the teaching team opens the day over coffee. The travelling duo Antoine et Clairette plays for the occasion.
Maillard & Maillard, marble and stone at Mesnil-Roc’h
Maillard & Maillard is a family marble works at the Lieu-dit La Métairie du Rouvre, co-managed by Eric and Loic Maillard. Visiting hours are set while the production site runs, so the stone can be followed as it becomes material for interior fitting-out. A second trade sits beside it: taille de pierre for restoring old buildings and the region’s heritage. The third is the stone carver, who answers private and public commissions.
Armorique Vitrail, stained glass at Ploubezre
Armorique Vitrail stands opposite the church of Ploubezre, near Lannion, and normally opens only by appointment. For these two periods the glass artisan Pauline Le Goïc opens the atelier and the showroom together. Visitors watch her at the bench, hear what the craft asks of her, and see pieces that rarely leave museums, galleries or the salons dédiés aux métiers d’art. Her trade serves new commissions and the restoration du patrimoine alike.
Embroidery at the Atelier du 5, Audierne
The Atelier du 5 opens its workroom at Audierne for an embroidery initiation inside the Economic Tourism and Local Crafts Weeks. Each sitting takes three people at most, so the work happens at the frame beside the embroiderer. What is taught is embroidery as a traditional Breton craft, with a needle in the hand of each participant. The fortnight is run by the Federation of Brittany Tourist Offices, and twelve is the youngest age admitted.
Atelier 33: lapidary and glass crafts, Landerneau
Atelier 33 opens its benches in Landerneau, where glass blowing and glass spinning, micro-soldering, laser engraving and lapidary work are practised. The session then turns practical with an initiation to the lapidary craft: each person learns how a rough stone is polished, works at it, and keeps the stone. Steven guides every step. The group is held to four people, and the bench is open from eighteen years up.