It all begins with an almost island, an island-like peninsula stretching out into the Mediterranean Sea from France. Sète is a small city with a village-like atmosphere on the western side of France’s coast on the Mediterranean. A village of fishermen and their colorful boats, a village of authentic traditions and fine food. And every two years this city-village celebrates maritime traditions in song, authentic folklore, historic boats, crafts and culinary specialties from the participating regions and countries. This year Escale à Sète (stopover in Sète) is being held from March 26th through April 1st, although Sète is worth a visit at anytime of the year. The festival offers an opportunity to learn about maritime traditions and crafts that are essential to maintaining the boats, both old and new. Workshops, conferences, fantastic boats in the water are all on the agenda. 

This year no less than 130 famous ships or their replicas will be on hand for the boat parades, naval battles, shows and nautical competitions. A highlight will be the three-masted Belèm, the most emblematic of sailboats, putting in an exceptional appearance before heading to Athens to recuperate the Olympic flame for the Olympic Games being held in France this year. Some 50 musical groups will be on hand on board the boats, on the docks or in the local taverns including groups from Japan, Italy, Croatia, Ireland and the Blau Jungs, the choir of the German navy. Food plays a major role during the festivities with Japanese chefs preparing tuna and oysters, specialties of the Venetian lagoon and Corsican cuisine from the fishermen of Ajaccio, just to mention a few of the taste treasuries to be sampled. 

There are more than 1,000 free workshops on the agenda as well. You can learn about naval construction, seamanship, maneuvering boats and sea and seafood recipes. Twelve thematic villages line the docks and not to be missed is the herring smoke stand with René Godvliet who hails from the Netherlands. The first Escale à Sète was held in 2010. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://escaleasete.com/

See also: https://thegourmetgazette.com/2024/04/03/an-air-of-arborescence/