Fête de Champignelles

Champignelles, green heart of Puisaye-Forterre

Champignelles is a village of about 800 inhabitants located in Puisaye-Forterre, in the northwest of the Yonne department, not far from the border with Loiret. This region of wooded hills, ponds, and hedgerows, immortalized by the novelist Colette, is one of the most preserved natural areas in Burgundy. Puisaye, the land of clays and chestnut trees, offers a rural and peaceful living environment that fosters local initiatives to promote the terroir.

Champignelles has a dynamic network of associations, notably led by the Verger d'Abondance Locale (VAL), an association that manages a community orchard planted with about forty old apple trees of ancient varieties. This original initiative combines fruit production, preservation of varietal heritage, and social life, making the orchard a place for intergenerational encounters and raising awareness about agro-ecology.

The summer local festival

Every summer, the village of Champignelles organizes its local festival around the national holiday. Led by the Festival Committee in conjunction with the town hall, this popular event brings together the people of Champignelles and their guests for several days of friendly entertainment.

The traditional program includes a festive meal prepared by volunteers, a dance evening with live music or a DJ, a pétanque competition, and games for children. A torchlight procession accompanied by the local brass band and majorettes, and a fireworks display mark the highlight of the evening of July 13th, creating a magical atmosphere in the village streets.

Festival entertainment

• Torchlight procession with brass band and majorettes
• Fireworks display
• Popular ball with orchestra or DJ
• Village meal with local specialties
• Pétanque competition open to all
• Folk dance demonstrations
• Games and entertainment for children

The Apple Festival, an autumn gathering

In the fall, Champignelles comes alive with an original event: the Apple Festival, organized every early October by the association Verger d'Abondance Locale (VAL). This friendly festival celebrates the old apple varieties planted in the community orchard: visitors can watch the apple picking and pressing, taste freshly pressed apple juice, participate in a homemade pie contest, and learn more about the orchard's agro-ecological practices.

The Apple Festival perfectly illustrates the philosophy of Puisaye-Forterre: promoting local resources, preserving varietal heritage, and creating social connections around local products. The Champignelles orchard, located at 5 rue Arsène Duguyot, is a space of cultivated biodiversity that contributes to local pollination and the transmission of ancestral knowledge.

Champignelles and the Estivales de Puisaye

Champignelles is also associated with the Estivales de Puisaye-Forterre, a classical music festival that travels through about fifteen villages in Puisaye every summer. Chamber music and opera concerts are held in the region's churches, castles, and barns, offering residents access to high-level musical culture in their own villages. This traveling program makes Champignelles a player in the cultural life of Puisaye, far beyond its local festival.