FROM 28 February to 4 March 2014 the Granville Carnival will celebrate its 140th anniversary. Unlike other carnivals, the one at Granville has been sustained thanks, at first, to the high involvement of local sailors and later on, to the support of the whole population of the town, who have transformed it into a huge event.
In the old days, the departure of the whole of the town’s fishing fleet to Newfoundland took place every year at Shrove Tuesday – as of course was also the case for Channel Island sailors. The crossing was so long and rough that sailors wanted to enjoy themselves as much as possible before leaving and confronting big storms.
Since then, the Granville people have perpetuated the tradition even if fishermen don’t sail to Newfoundland any more. The Granville Carnival is now open to a large number of visitors – and it will be an opportunity for Jersey people to cross the sea and have fun in the biggest carnival in Normandy. They will enjoy one of the longest cavalcades in Europe (3.5 km) within the 44 themed floats, 100,000 visitors and 7 tons of confetti!
Sailings will be available via the Manche Ile ferry link. The full program is on-line at www.carnaval-de-granville.fr
