Burzet Humour Comic Strip Festival

ℹ️ Festival discontinued. The Burzet Humorous Comic Strip Festival is no longer held. After 22 editions from 2003 to 2024, the organizing association Les Riboules Dingues confirmed its dissolution during its general assembly in 2025. In the words of the association on the commune's website, «the album closes» and «Burzet's clock will no longer chime for the autumn humorous comic strip festival». This page is kept as an archive to trace the history of this cultural event in Ardèche.

A unique concept in France

The Burzet Humorous Comic Strip Festival was the only festival in France entirely dedicated to humorous comic strips. Based on an original concept, it annually brought together professionals in humorous drawing, press cartoons, and humorous comic strips with an audience of all ages, in the picturesque setting of the Cévennes village of Burzet, in Ardèche.

The Les Riboules Dingues association

The festival was organized by the Les Riboules Dingues association, born from the desire to create this cultural event in Burzet. From the first edition in 2003 to the last in 2024, the association passionately and voluntarily carried out the festival, inviting about ten professional authors and illustrators specializing in graphic humor each year. Among the authors invited over the editions were Claire Bouilhac, Jake Raynal, Mathilde Domecq, Eva Rollin, Laetitia Coryn, Camille Burger, Anouk Ricard, and Dutreix. In 2025, the association's general assembly confirmed its dissolution, bringing the adventure to an end.

Signing sessions, exhibitions, and workshops

The festival program included signing sessions with the present authors, exhibitions showing the behind-the-scenes of humorous comic strip creation, drawing workshops for all ages, story readings for children, and screenings of animated short films. All activities took place at Espace Astier, the village's multi-purpose hall, on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm. A specialized bookstore was also present on site, as well as a Cévennes dinner in the evening.

A marked trail through the village

A unique feature of the festival was a marked trail that crossed the village of Burzet and traced, year after year, the complete history of the festival through reproductions of posters and drawings from previous editions. This cultural walk allowed visitors to discover both the heritage of the Cévennes village and the graphic universe of the artists who had participated in the festival since its creation. Each year, a new author created the official festival poster, such as Claire Bouilhac in 2024 with a hiking theme.

Burzet, a Cévennes village in the heart of Ardèche

Burzet is a typical village of the Ardèche Cévennes, nestled in the Bourges valley, in the heart of the Monts d'Ardèche Regional Natural Park. Its stone houses, steep streets, and medieval bridge offered an authentic and charming setting for the festival, whose entry was free.