Festival Tintamarre

A festival born from cultural cooperation

The Festival Tintamarre was born in 2010 from the common desire of several cultural structures in the Vichy urban area to create a major event dedicated to young audiences. The Centre Culturel Valery-Larbaud (Vichy Culture), the association Musiques Vivantes, the Théâtre de Cusset, and Le Geyser de Bellerive-sur-Allier joined forces to pool their skills, venues, and networks around a common goal: to give every child in the urban area the opportunity to discover live performance.

Every year in November, for about ten days, the festival features shows of music, theater, circus, puppets, and visual arts designed for children from nursery to middle school. The Opéra de Vichy, the Centre Culturel, the Salle Dany, the Théâtre de Cusset, and Le Geyser become stages dedicated to youth and artistic discovery.

A dual approach: school and general public

The originality of the Festival Tintamarre lies in its organization in two complementary phases. A school phase allows students from nursery schools, primary schools, and middle schools in the urban area to attend performances during the day, often preceded by awareness workshops led by musicians and artists working in the classrooms. A general public phase, in the late afternoon and on weekends, opens the shows to families, allowing parents and grandparents to share the wonder of the stage with the children.

This link between school outreach and family programming makes Tintamarre a powerful tool for cultural democratization and artistic awakening throughout the Vichy Communauté territory.

A demanding and joyful program

The festival's program combines artistic excellence and accessibility. The invited companies, from all over France, offer shows that delight young and old alike: visual and sound poetry, musical comedies, clown shows, ecological musical tales, puppet shows, and immersive creations. The 2025 edition, the 16th of its name, notably featured Cie Marjolaine Minot (Non ! Je veux pas), the Colle brothers and their musical comedy Drum Brothers, Alex Vizorek in Le Carnaval des Animaux at the Opéra de Vichy, as well as Cie la Polycompagnie with the ecological tale Pépito petit bateau.

Voluntarily modest prices—from 5 to 8 euros depending on the show—guarantee the accessibility of this quality programming to all families in the Vichy area.