Olive tree festival in Ollioules: La Fête de l’Olivier
- Chez Lola et Lulu
- Oct 13, 2020
- 2 min read
Autumn has arrived....
L’automne est arrivé and very sadly Coronavirus is still with us, and so another traditional festival and family celebration bites the dust…..this time, the annual Fête de l’Olivier or olive tree festival of Ollioules, a commune in the Var district of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.
Ma Provence
Back in the day when I was a young twenty something student I was lucky enough to be posted to the Var district and was given the Collège les Eucalyptus in Ollioules as one of my placement schools where I would help teach English to the young teenage French students.
Although I hadn’t felt very lucky at first, truth be told – having just got engaged to my English boyfriend, I felt very lonely in my lodgings in Toulon. However, the Provençal charm of the area soon worked its magic and I quickly grew to love the beautiful countryside, and my new flatmate Judith and I happily trundled about in her cream and maroon 2CV, smoking Gauloises Blondes with the roof down under cobalt blue skies. We lived in a ‘deux pièces’ apartment on Boulevard St Hélène, with not a stick of furniture but it had blue shutters and a fabulous view. A whole collection of beaches lay right at the end of the road and there was a pretty Boulangerie with a friendly boulangère on the corner. We were definitely living the dream.
Normally visitors and locals can sample the local olives and olive treats such as tapenade, breads and biscuits at the two day Ollioules festival. There is also the traditional planting/ blessing of an olive tree, parades, Provençal music, children’s games and lots of merrymaking and good food and wine. Alas we will have to now look forward to the Fête in 2021 in the hope that next year will be a better one…..
For those who are partial to the lovely Olive we do of course have our Olive French market soap: A l’Huile d’olive. This luscious olive oil savon is a dark green coloured soap that is sure to please everyone. The powerful combination of Provençal olive oil and nourishing Shea butter will help to deeply hydrate and regenerate skin.
Get yours at the Etsy shop: LOLAetLULU or on our online Lola et Lulu shop.
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