April
The Holy week in Calvi
The Holy Week in Calvi is one of the most important times for the religious and popular traditions in the city. The Easter celebrations are more particularly emphasized by the procession of la Granitula, whereby the brotherhoods gather their thoughts by singing and praying in a snail-like movement. A number of concerts of sacred and secular music make Easter’s week celebrations more complete.
May
Festival of the three cultures in Calvi
After Ciboure in 1999 and Collioure in 2000, it will be Calvi’s turn to host the Festival of the three cultures. This consists in gathering the living strenghts of the three cities around several themes including music, gastronomy, arts and craft, sport, history, minority languages and cultures in Europe.
Date : four days in May, during the Pentecost weekend.
Association F3C Calvi : 04 95 65 01 07
June
Calvi jazz festival
The jazz festival is one of the oldest musical and cultural events in the city of Calvi. For over ten years, the jazz festival has welcome 150 musicians for a whole week. The most famous of them, like late Michel Petrucciani, have made the festival famous all over the world.
Petrucciani’s loyalty and joy of being in Calvi gave birth to magical meetings, like the duet with Didier Lockwood « made in Calvi ».
Date : end of June, beginning of July.
Contact : Association Calvi Jazz Festival, 04 95 65 00 50
www.calvi-jazz-festival.com
International Festival of Pyrotechny
Date : from June 30th to July 7th, 2001 (to be confirmed)
For over 20 years, the city of Calvi has been famous for the quality of its pyrothechnic shows. On the occasion of the first year of the millenium, the creation of the first international pyrotechnic festival will perpetuate the tradition especially. It will consist in a great fireworks display that will turn the prestigious site of the citadel into an short-lived masterpiece.
Organisation : the city of Calvi
Information : tourist office, phone number : 04 95 65 16 67.
July
Contemporary Art Event in Calvi
The city of Calvi launched the first art exhibition in the area every year since 1966. It consists in a sale-display of around a hundred works of art of professional artists from the island and the continent who are welcomed for three days for a private viewing.Thanks to this event, the exhibition is a great support to promote Calvi and its area. The different gifts of the artists will allow besides to increase the art heritage of the town and, and a modern art foundation will eventually be created.
Date : from June 15th to September 15th, Calvi’s exhibition rooms, entrance to the citadel.
Annex of the tourist office of the city. Phone : 04 95 65 36 74 or 04 95 65 16 67
August
The fireworks on August 15 th
This was first created to celebrate the Blessed Virgin, the city’s Guardian. Today, this popular and traditional event has become the most sought after pyrotechnic show in Corsica, attracting an audience of about 20,000 people and marks the peak of the holiday season. The show has different themes and it fuses classical and modern music with a magnificient lighting of the citadel. Information : tourist office
September
Polyphonic singing events :
A l'iniziiu c'era a voce
The polyphonic songs are part of the most popular cultural traditions in our island. U Svegliu Calvese Association, created these events in 1988, in collaboration with the polyphonic singing band A Filetta, in order to perpetuate this heritage and to make it open it to other cultures sharing the polyphonic expression. Today, this musical events are of a high standard, on this occasion, singers from all over the world get together : Mongolians, Inuits, Tibetans, South-Africans, Cubans, and Sardinians. Beyond the international aspect of this event, the whole space and architecture of the upper town is highlighted. The heart of the city beats to the rythm of concerts, workshops, and events dedicated to the art of Singing.
Date : five days in mid-September
Information : Association U Svegliu Calvese, phone number : 04 95 65 23 57
E-mail : svegliu@aol.com
October
Created in 1993, this festival with an original concept gathers « makers of wind » in all kinds of fields : art, sports, music, science, medicine, humour, drama and environment. Thus, each year for a whole week, Calvi turns into the capital city of wind, and becomes the centre of eolian works of artexhibitions, concerts, conferences and colloquiums dealing with medical issues, exhibitions of unusual items, creative workshops, street entertainment, and events with a taste of freedom. Children enjoy the festival which involves them to a great extent and this event displays an educational purpose : citizen values such as ecology and human rights are never forgotten.
Date : last week of October.
www.le-festival-du-vent.com
