Fete

Year two means having to repeat things over again. When it comes to Fete, this is not a bad thing.
For those who need a little bit of info about the Fete des Vendanges, please see my brief synopsis on in the late September 2004 archives.
I had a friend come to visit me this weekend and she got to partake in the Desalpes and Fete festivities...the more people the merrrier! It was great having someone extra here to party with. Someone who's up for anything and loves having a great time as much as I do.
Friday night was like the "intro to fete". My friend was arriving on the Saturday morning, so I was out with my usual posse to soak up the Fete goodness. We met at someone's place who was conveniently located in the middle of the action. I'm ridiculously envious of his rooftop balcony which if I had one, I would go out at every spare moment just to lie there and stare at the sky. It's so fab at night to lie back and star at the stars. Anyway, when we were there, we could hear the party getting started below us. When we were ready to head out, the party was in full swing and the Guggenmusik parade was just getting underway. These marching bands get so incredibly dressed up in bizzaro outfits...it's such a blast. Did you know that they crown a Miss Fete des Vendanges?!? Tee hee. We saw the candidates going by sitting on the backseat of a convertible. They had their waves down pat.
Aside from the fact that the city comes alive and they're hoards of people out for Fete, I love it because there are so many different cultures represented in a normally not so multicultural town. The streets are filled with stalls of vendors from different cultures selling food and drinks from back home as their music is pumping out through the speakers. How people do not feel compelled to dance is beyond me.
Saturday was even more packed and raucous than the night before. The key is to figure out a hot spot and stay there for awhile and then take breaks to walk around and get something to eat and/or drink. This night, we followed a good tip and found a little corner with an amazing vibe and great music. Good times for sure. One ingenious drink that I must tell about: drinks in IVs pouches. Instead of being hooked up to your veins though, the tubing is used as a straw and the pouch is attached to a string that is worn around your neck. It's all about the packaging!
Oh, and hello...CONFETTI!!! Kudos to the Neuch who can clean up a multicoloured mess (and I mean there's so much that there's a nice thick layer of confetti on the street) in one night.

It's Sunday, and Fete's still going on until tonight...