When planningthe route for my 85-day trip around Europe, I deliberately worked the dates of the Festival d’Avignon in southern France into my itinerary. I wanted to witness its legendary, spectacular parade—but never imagined I would be lucky enough to take part in a tiny piece of it myself…
The Festival d’Avignon takes place every July, when the weather is warm. It is probably Avignon’s liveliest month of the year. When I did the math and realized that my late-June flight to Paris—the first stop on my journey around Europe—lined up perfectly with the festival’s promotional parade and opening, it felt like fate.
[ This photo alone is worth booking a flight for ]
Even luckier, one of my brilliant university classmates happened to be working for a Taiwanese theatre company participating in the festival. That gave me a familiar face to rely on in southern France, a couch to surf on, and the occasional chance to help the company with odd jobs from the sidelines—leaving me with memories of the Festival d’Avignon from both the inside and the outside.
[ Little did she know I’d expose her here… ]
Founded in 1947, the festival has become a longstanding tradition in southern France. After Jean Vilar, then director of Paris’s Théâtre National Populaire, accepted a proposal to stage performances outside conventional theatres, he deliberately looked beyond Paris for a venue. He ultimately chose Avignon in southern France—a city that had once historically belonged to an entirely different country from Paris—as the original performance site,turning Avignon into the theatre capital of the world。
The Festival d’Avignon is like a carnival. What makes it special is that its theatre programme is divided into two categories: OFF and ON.The headline productions officially invited by the Festival d’Avignon are known as ON. They perform inside the Palais des Papes, with ticketing and promotion handled by the festival organisers. The surrounding venues are opened to other theatre companies, creating an even richer variety of performances; these arethe OFF productions. These companies must rent their own venues and handle promotion, administration, ticket sales, and the cast and crew’s accommodation and meals（depending, of course, on whether their country provides funding）. Finding ways to make the public aware of their show—and willing to pull out that precious… banknote to see it—is entirely up to them, and it is the most important job for anyone involved in an OFF company.
[ Taiwan’s representative to France, Michel Ching-long Lu, led the Taiwanese theatre companies to Avignon. Five Taiwanese companies participated in 2012 ]
Coming from the station to the outside of Avignon’s old city walls,I found the gates inside the walls covered with trendily designed theatre posters—part of the OFF companies’ all-out effort to attract audiences. Colourful, lively, and imaginative, the posters contrasted dramatically with the yellowish tones of this 14th-century papal city. The instant I stepped into the old town, I was treated to a thoroughly satisfying visual jolt.
[ Whatever kind of iron fence this used to be no longer matters—the posters are its new wallpaper now ]
The day I arrived（July 4, 2012）wasthree days before the Festival d’Avignon officially began, and also the first day companies were allowed to put up posters. The Taiwanese companies were part of the OFF programme, so the moment I arrived in Avignon and met up with my old classmate, we immediately set out—catching up while competing with the other companies for wall space. We played poster tic-tac-toe to see who could conquer the most visible winning spot, while also taking the opportunity to explore Avignon’s charming little old town.
[ They even brought out ladders to see who could go highest（though who can read the words when they’re pasted that high?） ]
[ Water Reflection Dance Ensemble brought “Eastern Women Shifted Along the Timeline” to Avignon. They were also the Taiwanese company that gave me a place to stay ]
Avignon is not large, but in July it is illuminated by art. Streets that had seemed short somehow grew longer as I kept stopping to admire the posters. There always seemed to be something new nearby worth pausing for, making the city feel impossible to finish exploring.
But the best of the Festival d’Avignon was only just beginning.Two days after the posters went up, the theatre companies that had descended on Avignon filled the entire city with a joyful uproar. At any moment, you might encounter costumed actors improvising with passers-by in the streets, throwing everything they had into promoting their shows. It was basically Disneyland, Avignon edition—a huge costume party unfolding across the whole city. Sometimes I could barely tell whether the person approaching me was a conservatively dressed performer or simply a fashionable passer-by.
[ Is this costume for a play or for Halloween? ]
[ But seriously, is this family performing, or do they normally dress like this…? ]
[ And this person who looks exactly like a backpacker is somehow the performer. I’m so confused～ ]
The afternoon when the festival officially begins（July 6 in 2012）is its liveliest moment, and perhaps Avignon’s most energetic day of the entire year. Every member of every theatre companygathers on the main street of Avignon’s old town for a grand parade, presenting a scene that best captures the essence of their show. Theatre professionals, devoted fans, and visiting tourists all crowd the street to watch the live trailers—an even quicker cheat sheet than Gu Amo’s summaries—enjoying an artistic feast beyond imagination or choosing the most eye-catching performances for their festival watchlists.
[ A highlight from the parade performance of “Eastern Women Shifted Along the Timeline.” Whenever they performed, a crowd gathered and countless people rushed to take photos ]
[ Another Taiwanese performance company ]
And somehow, I became part of the parade too! I joined the Water Reflection Dance Ensemble—the company letting me stay with them—put on a conical bamboo hat, and pushed a mobile flagpole cart made from a baby stroller, blending in among the performers. Although we had been complete strangers just three days earlier, and I had still been an outsider two days before,on this day, thanks to the bond of being looked after by fellow Taiwanese while travelling in a foreign land, I stepped out of the crowd where I had belonged and became one of the people promoting an outstanding Taiwanese performance company。
[ The ultimate reveal: that’s me in the conical hat between the two chess pieces～ ] （Image captured from CC TP / Youtubr）
[ We also ran into several groups of fellow Taiwanese watching the parade. Seeing our beautiful national flag flying was genuinely moving ]
Looking out from within the parade offered an entirely different perspective. It felt as though I had developed a small connection with the company, and when I saw them being encouraged, cheered on, and warmly received, I shared in their happiness.
My final day in Avignon was the day the festival’s companies began their performances（July 7, 2012）. Before catching my transport out of town, I went into the theatre to see the company I had come to know up close—the same team I had supported while wearing a conical bamboo hat and pushing a baby stroller.
[ Video documenting the Taiwanese performance companies at the 2012 Festival Off Avignon ]
Although the couchsurfing part of my European journey had not officially begun—this was only a preview—I was already excited about all the unfamiliar friends I might soon meet.
✈ Travel date: 2012/7/7
| Follow My European Trek | France: 9-Day Series
● France: Not What You Expected?
● France Day 1 – What?! You Can’t Get By in English at Charles de Gaulle, France’s Largest International Airport?
● France Day 1 – The Palace of Versailles in Paris, France: Finally Unblocking the Historical Connections in My Head
● France Day 2 – Without Getting Thoroughly Lost, How Could I Discover the Old-World Charm of the Palais Garnier in Paris?
● France Day 2 – The Historic Path Between the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées—and My Lamentable Ignorance of History
● France Day 3 – The Louvre in Paris: That Faint Smile Hidden Away in a Gilded Palace
● France Day 3 – My Own Impressions of Paris! Impressionist Masterpieces at the Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay
● France Day 4 – Mont-Saint-Michel: So This Is Where the Hole in My Head Came From
● France Day 5 – Two Holy Sites in One Day: Two Sides of Paris at Sacré-Cœur and Notre-Dame
● France Days 1–5 – The Eiffel Tower: Five Views of Paris’s Magical Lighthouse
● France Day 6 – Avignon, the Ancient Provençal City That Grows Even More Beautiful at Sunset
● France Day 7 – Roaming Free Through the Lavender Fields and Red Towns of Provence
● France Day 8 – Arles in Southern France: The Roman Empire Through My Eyes and Van Gogh’s Brush
● France Day 8 – Another Ancient Roman Town in Southern France: Does Old-Meets-New Nîmes Do It Better?
● France Day 9 – That Year, I Became Part of the Festival d’Avignon…
| Follow My European Trek | 85 Days Around Europe, 16 CountriesComplete List of More Articles
