Beloved witches. This weekend will take place, at Open Air Museum de Villeneuve d’Ascq, the event of the month in the metropolis of Lille: the Witch’s Festival*. For fifteen years, thousands of visitors have gathered, a fortnight before Halloween, on this site which houses old traditional buildings from Hauts-de-France, saved from demolition and rebuilt.
And among the mill, the sheepfold, the dovecote and other typical residences is a singular cottage: the cottage of Millam, a small town in Flanders, near Dunkirk, which once housed a witch named Zoé. Well, that’s what the legend says!
“Terror without falling into horror”
This year, for the first time, the artistic program is entrusted to a northern company connected to witchcraft. Lucas Bossu and Quentin Dangleterre founded the company Combin’Arts seven years ago around a shared passion for spells and hexes. “I have always been attracted by this kind of mysticism which flirts with terror without falling into horror,” Quentin Dangleterre tells 20 minutes.
Lucas Bossu, for his part, collected witch characters when he was little. It is true that Flanders is a territory full of witch stories. Many of them ended up at the stake, especially during the time of Louis XIV. “I really like this character who also symbolizes the strong woman, the one who takes over the man,” continues Quentin. It is not for nothing that she has become the figure of feminists. »
Quite naturally, their first show, A hair’s breadth from the right potion, therefore summoned the witches. “For our first date, we were scheduled at the Witch’s Festival,” remembers Quentin. It was probably a sign. »
A ballet of witches
Because today, the two actors and directors are in charge of the artistic programming of the festivities. And they decided to innovate with a treasure hunt and the physical presence, for the first time, of the witch Zoe. To find it, a treasure hunt was even imagined. “We have been working since January with a group of around thirty volunteers to create this treasure hunt and a scenic route,” explains Quentin.
The objective of this fun itinerary is intended to be educational. “We have done a lot of historical and folkloric research into this world of witchcraft. We are trying to rehabilitate witches a little with this initiative. » For ten months, with one workshop per month, decorations and costumes came to life from recycled materials. The final adjustments take place this Friday because the party must open with a ballet (and not a broom) of witches.
In 2019, the event welcomed 34,000 visitors. Since last year and the return after the Covid-19 epidemic, the gauge has been limited to 20,000 visitors for the two days.
* Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., 143, rue Colbert, in Villeneuve d’Ascq. Entrance: 5/3 euros. Limited gauge. Reservations strongly recommended on the website https://enm.lillemetropole.fr/. On the program, wanderings of witches and strange creatures, pyrotechnic shows, costume competitions for children on Saturday and groups on Sunday, creative workshops, treasure hunt….