The greyness and the rain of this Saturday, June 25, 2022 will not have started the determination of the festayres. Deprived of parties for two years because of the coronavirus, they are enjoying the return of the Saint-Jean celebrations to Saint Sever near Mont-de-Marsan. Since this Friday evening, they intend to take advantage of the five days of festivities. On the program: bullfighting, cavalcade, carnival, fireworks and especially the party until the end of the night!
A dose of sleep, a dose of alcohol and a dose of water (Hugo)
“A dose of sleep, a dose of alcohol and a dose of water” that’s Hugo’s secret to staying the course with his friends. But Hugo, half serious, and a little tipsy, warns. Beware of this one who would see behind the festayre only a drink without thirst. “The festayres are people who know how to party and who know how to have fun and the rest of the week they are cushy. Me, I get up, I don’t think about drinking, I say to myself – but what is it? what did I do last night? (laughs)- , I’m going to have a good glass of water and after that just drink a glass of whiskey”.
“We’ve been waiting for it to come back for so long, we’re so happy, we’re having a blast” launches Emma, in her twenties, smiling from ear to ear and ready to go until the end of the night with her friend Lucine. For five days they resume their marks and their ritual of festayres: “we get up, a little shower, milk rolls, a fruit juice or a glass of grenadine and then from 10 a.m. it’s aperitif”and what time do we go to bed? “We don’t have a time, six o’clock, seven o’clock in the morning!” answer the girls in chorus, that is to say at most four hours of sleep per “night”.
– Delphine Marion Boulle
We were really waiting for these parties (Sophie)
Sophie and her friends, there are a dozen of them in total, don’t have more hours of sleep on the clock, from Friday evening they didn’t have to be asked. “We were really expecting these parties, because since the confinement… it’s true that it’s been a pleasure!” says Sophie. She intends to take advantage of it until Sunday inclusive before returning to work. His secret? The water : “We alternate glasses of beer with glasses of water, it’s a great method!” and more precisely: “a few glasses of beer and when you think about it, a glass of water” she jokes.
A good festayre will also eat, this is the trick of Estibaliz and his friends “because if you don’t eat properly it’s complicated” recognizes the girl. But the best solution is still to drink in moderation, or to do like Lionel, one of Estibaliz’s friends who will stay sober all weekend. “The holidays fall on a bad weekend, I have a blood test to get my license back so I’m not entitled to anything, now I’m drinking water and maybe I’ll have a hydraulic coma” he jokes.
For five days, the town lives to the rhythm of festivities from bullfighting to fireworks, through the cavalcade and the carnival. With or without alcohol, tens of thousands of visitors are expected to celebrate the return of the Saint-Jean celebrations.