All photos courtesy of Catherine Nelson-Pollard
Carnaval is a tradition in most of Switzerland's cantons. Below are noteworthy Vaud, Valais, Fribourg or other Swiss hotspots with elaborate parades. Most will be wearing masks and have rituals familiar with each area. Of course there are the usual festive findings including food, drink, local specialties and crafts, Guggenmusik (costumed brass bands). Oh, and lots and lots of confetti!
In general, Carnaval covers the period between Epiphany early January and Shrove Tuesday (between 3 February and 9 March). Normally, the first day is known as Jeudi Gras (“Fat Thursday”) and the last day as Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”), however many have more than one Mardi Gras!
Confetti stamps
A party atmosphere on your envelopes! These colourful special stamps lend themselves to creative stamping, putting a smile on the face of the person they’re addressed to even before they open their mail. Made in honor of Switzerland Carnaval season. With the new post office tarifs (CHF 1.20 instead of CHF 1.10) you might need to supplement exisiting older stamps when sending out your next letters!
We have listed a few cities with their CARNAVAL dates in order of start date here:
EVOLINE, VS
2-3, 9-11, 13 February 2024
Click here for more information
This is a quaint town with many traditions. Lots of events taking place as well as a meal consisting of spit-roasted boar (sanglier) on the Sunday.
BULLE, FR
2-4 February 2024
Click here for more information
The Bulle Carnival is a local tradition that involves a large number of children every year.
For more than 100 years, the town of Bulle vibrates during Carnival. To the sound of the Guggens, many animations are organised inside and out. To entertain young and old, dressed up or not.
Dressed in their finest costumes, up to 800 children take part in the grand parade on Saturday. This colourful and festive moment ends with the burning of the Winter Man. The real highlight of the festival, which traditionally marks the end of winter.
On Sunday afternoon there is a free magic show for all the family at the Town Hall. Proof that children are at the heart of the Bulle Carnival.
ESTAVAYER, FR
2-4 February 2024
Click here for more information
Every year, announcing the Carnival of Estavayer, the traditional Hanging of the Perch starts with a procession that leaves the Place du Midi and, to the sound of the local guggenmusik, La Staviacouac, leads the giant papier-mâché fish in front of the tower of the Dominican Sisters, where a bar opens for this day as well as for the carnival (Le Socabar). There, tea and mulled wine are offered to the population. Afterwards, a party with DJ's extends the event, in a carnival atmosphere, until late at night.
Read below to enter a competition for the 11h performance on the 27th January 2024
GAOS' director of the current musical pantomime, Pinocchio, Liz Williams, played her first role for GAOS as the Blue Haired Fairy in Pinocchio in 1985. She suggested to the Committee last year that it was about time to roll out another version. 39 years later, Liz remains a Good Fairy for GAOS, elevating the best of them all, Cast and Crew, to a splendid spectacle.
For 40 years, one of Liz’s partner in crime, John Fox, has been designing and painting sets for GAOS. This is his second attempt at the pantomime Pinocchio, the last one being also in 1985. Adopting an entirely different approach, he hopes that previous errors have been corrected. If not, third time lucky?
Other members of the 1985 Production are having fun with this new one: Sue Bergomi, singer in 1985, is now responsible for making Pinocchio's nose. Cheryl Ball, spotted in children's ballet in 1985, is now in charge of... children's ballet!
The story of Pinocchio
Geppetto, an old toy maker, longs for a son of his own. With a little help from the Blue Fairy and a cheeky little cricket, his wish comes true and his puppet, Pinocchio, comes to life!
The magical puppet catches the eye of the evil showman Stromboli who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the enchanted toy. With the help of Mamma Mia and her hapless son Lampwick from the local pizzeria, will Pinocchio learn in time what it takes to be a 'real boy’?
Come and find out with Pinocchio, a traditional English Pantomime, with no strings attached!
On stage 16 children and 20 adults. Behind the scenes, around a hundred people are also working to make this show a success.
In a Panto, one of the most important aspects is the interaction between the actors and the audience. Join in the fun!
Boo and hiss the villain, cheer the hero, sing along, shout out phrases and much more!
Geneva Lux is a free festival of lights, organized by the Département de la sécurité et des sports de la Ville de Genève (Department of Security and Sports of the City of Geneva), will take place between 19 January and 4 February 2024.
Geneva Lux: 10 years of magic
This year's edition is unlike any other. The Geneva Lux festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It now boasts a true cultural dimension, featuring creations that are works in their own right, signed by renowned light artists. Some of the works are original, while others travel across Europe and stop off in the Rade de Genève, like a museum hosting a temporary exhibition.
Geneva Lux also helps to boost Geneva's appeal by encouraging people to get out and enjoy a free moment of urban poetry.
This 10th edition brings nearly thirty luminous works, a third of them never before seen in Geneva. Several astonishing performances will also brighten up your weekend evenings during the festival. And, as last year, the public can enjoy a glass of mulled wine or a cup of tea at the festival refreshment bar on Quai du Mont-Blanc.
Rade Radiance - every Friday and Saturday
Sound and light show
Every Friday and Saturday – 19h, 20h, 21h – in front of the Jardin Anglais
Immerse yourself in a magical world when Geneva Lux opens, illuminating the Jardin Anglais with a thousand lights. This daring new sound and light show transcends the limits of technology and creativity.
A monumental screen of water rises like a veil over the lake, providing the perfect canvas for the light projections. These lights, dancing and merging with the water, give life to a majestic hologram, playing with perspectives and offering a three-dimensional visual experience.
We wrote about Reptile Expo back in February when it was being hosted near Neuchâtel. We just found out that the exhibit of these live reptiles and friends will be set up the day after Christmas through 14 April 2024 in Sierre! And the exhibitors have kindly offered one of our readers a "pack famille" including 4 tickets! Read below to enter the competition.
The array of species that many have never seen in real life are set up in this temporary, mobile vivarium located in Sierre, at the Centre COOP Rossfeld. The museum is open daily from 10h-18h (even on Sundays).
The aim of this exhibition is to teach young and old alike to get to know these much-feared animals better, while at the same time enabling them to experience an unforgettable moment through a family-friendly, educational activity. Nowadays, it's vital to inform people and help them discover the little-known world of reptiles and their danger of extinction. "Better knowledge, better protection".
New this year!
This year, for the first time in Switzerland - and practically UNIQUE IN THE WORLD, as the only other place to find it in captivity is in a zoo in the Czech Republic - you'll be able to discover an exceptional snake that was officially discovered fairly recently in Iran (2006): the spider viper (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides), top photo. It has the most elaborate lure of all snakes, with a protrusion at the end of its tail that resembles a small spider, making it a formidable lure for foraging birds.
Visitors will be able to observe more than 250 animals, including 80 different species, in their natural habitat over an area of 1,200 m2.
If you are looking for something to do during the upcoming October holiday, then make sure to put Vallorbe and nearby Sainte Croix on your map. Juraparc is a wildlife park boasting bears and wolves in cohabitation, which replicates the most exacting conditions found in nature.
The wildlife park where brown bears and wolves live side by side, in the Jura vaudois, between Le Pont and Vallorbe, at the Mt d'Orzeires pass situated at 1000m.
Juraparc is not only a wildlife park with bears, wolves and bison, it's also an entertainment and leisure park for children, with a large playground and direct contact with goats, ponies, donkeys and Alpacas! The restaurant that sets itself apart from the alpine inn with its refined cuisine and many specialities and a large sunny terrace.
In fact, under natural conditions, wolves and bears have large territories that they share with other species. Mont d'Orzeires have reproduced conditions similar to and proportional to the natural territories of these 2 species.
The park also leave stumps, fallen trees, clumps of bushes, pebbles etc. for this purpose. The aim of the park is to offer the animals a space similar to freedom.
The park is bounded on one side by the visitor footbridge (over 3m50 high) and on the other by nature with an imposing rock face.
