The Bagpipe Society

Too hot to handle - the Rencontre des Chabretaires at Plazac

'Too hot to handle' - was that Eric Montbel's chabrette playing, or just the canicule that saw the temperature in the Dordogne hitting 40 degrees in the shade? It was a sweltering weekend that saw a good few dozen chabretaires and other musicians gathering in the little town of Plazac.

Bruno Roux of Los Zinzonaires had organized this year's meet-up to coincide with a festival celebrating the area's heritage, with interesting displays on local vernacular architecture, local crafts, and the archaeology of the Vezère valley (which includes the painted Lascaux cave). On the Saturday, the jeu de la chabrette was definitely not the only game in town, with fireworks, a batucada playing samba rhythms, and two artists with a surreal (and highly slapstick) bubble making show.

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