Foret Follies

ℹ️ Festival discontinued. Forêt Follies held its final edition in September 2024 after a 17-year run. In 2025, due to budget cuts (the event's approximately €90,000 budget was reduced by about 75%), the festival was replaced by a more modest event called "Chabrières en fête". The original Forêt Follies festival is no longer held.

A nature and crafts festival in the Chabrières forest

From 2008 to 2024, Forêt Follies took over the state-owned Chabrières forest—a vast 2,000-hectare woodland in the Guéret mountains—every September. For one weekend, the forest trails hosted a pop-up village featuring around a hundred stalls from designers and artisans, nature and environmental workshops, activity areas, and continuous live performances.

The event celebrated manual labor, traditional craftsmanship, and the beauty of the forest. Attracting between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors per edition, it was one of the major cultural and outdoor highlights in the Creuse region.

The end of an adventure

After 17 editions, the organizers announced that Forêt Follies would not return in 2025. Budgetary constraints and uncertainties, particularly regarding the weather, led to the abandonment of the historic format. Since then, the Chabrières forest has continued its September tradition under the name "Chabrières en fête," themed around the "Symphony of Colors": a free one-day event on September 14, 2025, followed by a two-day event in 2026 on Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13. This is a separate event from Forêt Follies.