Bouche à Oreille en Puisaye-Forterre

A Festival Born of Speech and Sharing

The Bouche à Oreille en Puisaye-Forterre festival lives up to its name: founded on oral transmission, conviviality, and meeting people, it transforms Toucy, the historic capital of Puisaye, into a temporary crossroads where world music, storytelling, and local flavors converge. Rooted in this preserved rural area of the Yonne department, the festival champions accessible, vibrant, and participatory culture, far from the big cities.

Puisaye-Forterre, a land of clay and hedgerows immortalized by the novelist Colette, provides an ideal setting for an intimate and human-centered festival. Toucy, the birthplace of lexicographer Pierre Larousse, thus reconnects with its role as a conduit of words and knowledge.

A Program Blending Music and Orality

The festival's uniqueness lies in its ability to blend diverse artistic universes around a common thread: word-of-mouth transmission. Each year, the program brings together:

• Jazz and Swing: Outdoor and indoor concerts featuring traditional jazz, New Orleans jazz, and swing, with local and guest musicians
• Chamber Music and World Music: From string quartets to Colombian brass bands, and from Czech songs to Central European melodies, the program is resolutely open to the world
• 1900s Ball: A convivial dance evening reviving the dances and music of the turn of the last century, open to all levels
• Storytelling Performances: Professional storytellers take over the squares and alleys of Toucy for sessions aimed at families and the general public, celebrating the ancestral art of orality
• Readings and Short Forms: Spoken-word poetry, theatrical sketches, and literary performances complete the program

Dinner-Concerts: The Soul of the Festival

The dinner-concert formula is at the heart of the festival's identity. Each evening, partner restaurants in Toucy and neighboring towns offer special menus combining traditional Burgundian recipes with international cuisine, while musicians and storytellers perform live. This intimate alliance between food and stage creates unique evenings that are both festive and warm.

Gastronomy as a Cultural Vector

The festival places great importance on the local products and know-how of the Puisaye region. Troussepinette, a traditional aperitif made from blackthorn shoots steeped in white wine and alcohol, is featured in tasting and preparation workshops led by local producers. Sourdough bread baked in a wood-fired oven, jams made from hedgerow fruits, and desserts with ancestral recipes: local gastronomy becomes a cultural act in itself.

Participatory Workshops for Everyone

The Bouche à Oreille festival claims a highly participatory dimension. Beyond the performances, the public is invited to experience the festival from the inside:

• Traditional Bread Workshop: Discover kneading and baking bread using age-old methods
• Jam and Preserves Workshop: Learn techniques for preserving garden fruits and vegetables
• Troussepinette Workshop: Prepare and taste this emblematic aperitif of Puisaye
• Dance Classes: Introduction to traditional and popular dances related to the musical program
• Visual Arts Exhibition: The festival hosts exhibitions by local artists, particularly highlighting the pictorial and poetic works of artists attached to the Puisaye region

A Festival Open to Europe

From its early editions, the Bouche à Oreille festival has developed international cultural partnerships, notably with musical ensembles from Central Bohemia (Czech Republic). These exchanges give the festival a unique Central European flavor, reflecting the ambition of an event rooted locally but open to the world.

Exhibitions and Screenings

During the day, the festival offers screenings of musical films as well as exhibitions in Toucy's heritage sites — historic squares, market halls, chapels, and gardens. These daytime events, often free, make the festival accessible to all audiences, including visitors passing through on the tourist routes of Puisaye.

A Territory, An Identity

Puisaye-Forterre, with its landscapes of rolling hills, ponds, and pink brick villages, forms the natural setting for a festival that celebrates slowness and depth. Toucy, the cantonal capital halfway between Auxerre and Cosne-sur-Loire, shines at the heart of this distinctive territory. The Bouche à Oreille festival helps strengthen the cultural appeal of this rural and authentic Burgundy, offering locals and tourists alike a memorable experience combining performing arts, intangible heritage, and local gastronomy.