It’s Carnival time in Binche. For the last few months, the city of Gilles has been preparing to celebrate the three “mardi gras” Carnival days in style. The festivities started Sunday morning and will finish on Tuesday, with a cortege and the big rondo.
After many months of preparation, proposals and rehearsals, Binche will finally begin celebrating Carnival on Sunday morning. Binche folklore and tradition was proclaimed as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2003.
The Carnival festivities in Binche started at the town hall on Wednesday, when the Presidents of the carnival associations met with city authorities. Carnival associations met on Friday in their respective buildings, one last meeting before the big event.
Transvestite actors, violins and drums will parade through Binche from 9am on Sunday morning. The carnival cortege will start at 3pm and head towards the town centre and the Grand Place. Several thousand people will take part in the event.
Binche carnival will continue into Monday and Tuesday. Gilles residents will be out in force and the “rondo” will take place on the Grand Place. Several hundred Gilles residents from 15 of the town’s associations will be involved.
The Brussels Times
