Fêtes d'Urrugne - Bixintxo

La Bixintxo, patronal festival of Urrugne

The Fêtes d'Urrugne — Bixintxo get their name from Bixintxo, the Basque form of Saint Vincent, the patron saint of the parish. While Saint Vincent's Day falls on January 22nd — and is celebrated with winter festivities in several Basque villages like Briscous, Ciboure, and Hendaye — Urrugne has chosen to celebrate its Bixintxo in September, taking advantage of the mild late summer weather on the Basque coast to offer six days of grand festivities.

Six days of celebration in the Labourdin town

The Bixintxo Festival unfolds over six days, from Friday to Wednesday, transforming the center of Urrugne into a pedestrian and festive zone. Traffic and parking are prohibited in the town center for the entire duration of the festival, allowing festival-goers to wander freely between the various entertainment venues. Each day, the program offers a mix of Basque traditions and festive entertainment: pelota games at the Trinquet Dongaitz, agricultural competitions, popular meals in the multi-purpose hall, open-air concerts, and evening dances.

Basque traditions and conviviality

The Bixintxo Festival embodies the values of conviviality and sharing that characterize Basque patronal festivals. The pelota games, the king sport of the Basque Country, take place at the Trinquet Dongaitz, one of the most renowned trinquet courts on the Basque coast. The agricultural competitions recall the rural character of Urrugne, a municipality that stretches from the cliffs of the Basque Corniche to the foothills of the Pyrenees. The popular meals, prepared by volunteers from the festival committee, bring the community together around the table in a spirit of sharing and generosity.

Urrugne, between ocean and mountain

Urrugne is an extensive municipality in Labourd that stretches from the Basque Corniche, with its spectacular cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, to the first peaks of the Pyrenees with Xoldokogaina (486 m) and the Montagne de Choldocogagna. Its Saint Vincent church, with its bell tower-porch and sundial bearing the inscription “Vulnerant omnes, ultima necat” (All wound, the last kills), is a remarkable monument of Labourdin heritage. The Bixintxo Festival celebrates this rich and diverse identity, between land and sea.