White embroidery reveals its precision in demonstrations by Sylvie Lezziero. A separate practical workshop introduces either a whitework motif with plumetis, sand and straight cordonnet stitches, or a Touraine motif incorporating Valenciennes lace. The small-group format connects close observation with needlework, making the techniques behind the delicate surface visible and teachable.
Topic: events
Beaugency’s Medieval Castrum: Tower, Court and Abbey
Beaugency’s medieval centre comes into view through the former castle square, the Tour César and Notre-Dame abbey church. An audio guide and mediator explain how these elements belong to the old castrum. Access to the château courtyard and the tower’s interior complements the abbey encounter, linking fortified, civic and religious spaces within one route.
Les Grands Feux: La Borne’s Wood-Fired Ceramics
Wood-fired kilns set the pace of Les Grands Feux in La Borne, with loading, firing and unloading carried out in public. Ceramicists from many places exchange working knowledge around the furnaces. Studio visits, exhibitions and practical workshops extend the programme from utilitarian pots to sculpture, revealing the range of practices sustained by this pottery village.
Nitray: Cher River Sound Walks and Sketchbook Art
Sounds and drawings offer different ways of following the Cher at Nitray. An audio walk introduces the river, while an exhibition pairs sketchbook artist Lapin’s work with creations from workshops involving La Croix-en-Touraine schools. Board games and a Micro-Folie digital museum visit add activities for children aged eight and over, connecting river heritage with artistic and participatory approaches.
La Bretèche Tileworks: Quarry and Craft Skills
Tilemaking begins with the ground beneath it at La Tuilerie de la Bretèche’s open house. Guided visits take in the working premises and quarry, connecting raw material with the place where it is transformed. Local artisans and a children’s workshop add further ways to encounter practical skills, with the tileworks team and volunteers sharing their knowledge in Ligny-le-Ribault.
Chaumussay in Black and White: A Village Album
Chaumussay appears through old photographs and postcards in Le temps suspendu, an exhibition devoted to the commune’s past. Black-and-white views bring together images that once circulated as cards and others preserved as photographs. The collection forms a village album, inviting attention to the places recorded and to the ways earlier photographers chose to frame them.
Nitray: The Wooden Needles That Keep the Cher Navigable
Wooden aiguilles stand side by side in the Cher’s needle dams, regulating water for navigation. At Nitray, Les Amis du Cher canalisé present an exhibition alongside subscriptions and the marking of sponsored needles. These pieces are passed to the river authority for use in the dams, making a small act of support part of the continuing care of this working river heritage.
Ferrières-en-Gâtinais: Medieval Streets and Living Crafts
Ferrières-en-Gâtinais approaches its heritage through performance, guided exploration and encounters with makers. A theatrical promenade and bell-tower visit sit alongside a trail of clues and a tour of the medieval town. Houses and gardens open their doors, while master glassmaker Sophie Berecz welcomes visitors to her studio, connecting historic streets with a craft still practised there.
George Sand’s Addresses: From Paris to Berry
George Sand’s addresses become a route through her life in Jocelyne BARON’s exhibition. Photographs, old postcards, maps and documents follow her from Parisian homes to the places where she grew up and lived in Berry. Sand’s own texts accompany the journey, linking physical settings with the writing they helped shape and with changing views of those places.
Lignières: Women Artists and the Journée du Matrimoine
Women artists receive the attention of the Journée du Matrimoine at Les Bains-Douches in Lignières. An exhibition shares the programme with an unusual literary tour, readings and improvised theatre. Conceived as a counterpart to the Journées du Patrimoine, the gathering uses these different forms to give women’s creative contributions a more visible place in cultural memory.