I spent a week-end in Arimont with friends at the beginning of March. The main reason was for us to attend the “Grand Defile de Carnaval” in Malmedy on Sunday, but since we were there anyway, we went for a short walk on Saturday near the Lake of Robertville. We started at the Chateau de Rheinardstein, recently reconstructed and actually occupied.
We got a good look at it because I initially took the wrong path … it has been more than 20 years since I last did this particular walk, and things have changed a little since then.
The weather was absolutely perfect, with bright sunshine even if a little cold. We were prepared for that part. As we got on the right path, I slowly started to see scenes which awakened old memories.
The Bahyon River is a small stream coming down from the Eifel which joins the Warche at this point. The Warche goes to the Ambleve, then the Meuse and eventually to the North Sea. We are not far from the sea, but still, four rivers removed from it.
At the end of the walk, we just ‘happened’ to pass by an excellent restaurant, with views over the Lake of Robertville, so we decided to have a late, leisurely lunch.
Sunday was a different story. We came to Malmedy early to start soaking in the atmosphere so special at this time of year. You could see preparations going on everywhere and people in the classical costumes congregating from all corners of the city.
There is some reliable information that indicates that this is the 553rd edition of this particular celebration – at least the first documented one was 552 years ago – I am not sure if we can prove that there was one every year since then. I must have gone to more than 10 parades over the years.
Even the public is getting in the mood … this is not not some one I claim to know!
We (Paul, Nancie, Romie and Bill) have staked out our places along the parade route. We are towards the end, as the rest of the route is already crowded and by the time we finish lunch, the parade is already on.
I will be standing on top of a wall to have a view over the rest of the crowd.
Nancie and Bee are also ready for their first Malmedy Parade.
The Elephant is bored waiting for the fun to begin.
Others are just thrilled to be here.
But the clowns are coming, indicating that the parade cannot be far behind. Traditionally, three clowns always open the parade on the Sunday before Mardi Gras.
The first band stopped right in front of us for a few minutes, we suspect in order to allow the rest of the parade to join together before they came back into town for the grand finale. This provided some nice musical entertainment for us; a few ladies on the other side of the road enjoyed the music just as much as we did.
Just a short video to get you also in the right mood. I am sorry if it takes a long time to load. I reduced the definition only so far as to be able to stay under the 10 mb limit imposed by WordPress (the software I use for this blog).
There is also a band that seems to like the East – they usually dress in “mandarin” uniforms, but do no necessarily play Chinese music.
The Pierrots are always popular – maybe because they throw oranges and walnuts – I am not sure where the practice to throw nuts cam from…
Individual Pierrots were having fun and enjoying the bright sunshine.
While there are traditional costumes and bands, there are always local groups which select a different theme every year. This is a youth group from a nearby town – you can guess the theme …
You do not necessarily need to go to Venice to enjoy that carnival. Gondola ride any one?
These three ladies had a lot of success
One of the best floats, in my opinion, was from the small town of Walk (Yes, that is the name of the town and there are indeed great walks to be done in the area – not far from where I took the pictures at the beginning of this post). The theme was “La Croisiere s’Amuse” which is the french name given to the US Series “The Love Boat”. Their favorite song was: “In the Navy” by the Village People – of course.
The two people standing on the speakers needed to be careful and when they were not struggling just to keep their balance, they would lead the rest of the troup with the correct moves …
This other group decided on a fireman theme. I am not sure about the girl smoking a cigarette while the “MAN” truck is speeding to extinguish a fire.
A group of chimney sweeps had brought their own chorus line, with a twist. Can you say Califragilisticexpialidocious in French?
There was also a pseudo-New Orleans Jazz Marching Band with a flag man who had all the moves. We got “All the Saints” for free! In N-O you usually have to pay for that one.
I made another quick video of this band
This is farm country. When a tractor is not the right way to pull a float, you can always rely on the strong Belgian Clydesdales to do so!
Another traditional costume below. I am not sure of the history behind this one.
A huge number of participants in the parade! The people with the long poles reach into the crowd to remove you hat, or just bother you while they appear not to pay attention. The people with the long arms ruffle the hair of beautiful ladies with long hair – there was one standing on front of me who got the treatment more than 20 times during the parade. They also steal your hat and place it on some one else’s head. The bakers have a paddle with which they stroke the behinds of unsuspecting watchers. There is something for every one in this parade.
The “Long Noses” come in groups of 4 to 8. they will sepect a “victim” and do everything he or she does until they pay for a round of beer. This one gentlemen made their life really difficult as he started running around in circles, doubling back on himself and the group following him until there was total and utter chaos. When he finally left the area, pulling his 7 Long Noses with him, he got a huge ovation from the crowd.
It seems to me that the musicians in the band get younger every year.
It is especially the can-can girls that seem to get younger! This group always has a Dutch theme, but I really do not know why!
It was a great parade! We had continuous entertainment for over 1 1/2 hour. The crowd and the participants had a lot of fun.
It was a good week-end with even better friends.
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Pierre, it occurs to me that parades might be more of a European tradition, because I don’t recall them being as popular in Asia.