Event: Belgium - Binche

Binche Carnival

When:	Feb 2008 (annual)
Where:	Binche

Each year during the three days preceding Lent, the medieval town of Binche in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region hosts a jovial carnival celebration that brings together the townspeople and attracts throngs of foreign visitors.

This celebration stands out as one of the oldest surviving urban carnivals in Europe, and is now on the UNESCO Heritage list. Written sources attest to the existence of the event since the Middle Ages. Its international popularity was established in the 19th century when it acquired the format and principal features that characterise it today, in particular the distinctive masks, accessories, instruments, the balls and special events.

Foremost among these are the entertaining costume balls, the Sunday public drum rehearsals and the ceremonial "dressing" of the legendary Gilles character, the emblem of both the carnival and the town of Binche. Groups of townsmen sporting red, white and black costumes, replete with magnificent ostrich-feather hats and a wax mask with small spectacles, parade through the town to the beat of the drum. Pierrots, harlequins and peasants follow the procession, intermingling with masked revellers and local brass and clarinet bands. Dancers, stirred by traditional tunes played on the viola and drum, perform an assortment of fancy steps including the perennial favourite, fittingly called pas du Gilles.