Grande Foire de la Saint-Martin du Blanc

A centuries-old fair in the capital of Brenne

The Grande Foire de la Saint-Martin du Blanc is one of the oldest and most important fairs in the Indre department. For centuries, on the Sunday before November 11th, Saint Martin's Day, the town of Le Blanc comes alive with a large trade fair that attracts thousands of visitors from all over the Brenne region and neighboring departments. This tradition perpetuates the heritage of the great rural fairs that once punctuated the economic and social life of the Berry countryside.

Hundreds of traders in the town center

On the day of the fair, the boulevards and streets of the town center of Le Blanc are filled with hundreds of non-resident traders. In addition to the usual weekly market, the stalls offer a wide variety of goods: clothing, shoes, leather goods, food products, sweets, household items, and much more. This trade fair is an opportunity to find good deals as winter and the holiday season approach.

A three-week funfair

The Grande Foire de la Saint-Martin is accompanied by a funfair that sets up at the Le Blanc exhibition park for a duration of three weeks. About thirty showmen offer attractions for all ages: thrill rides for the brave, bumper cars, haunted houses, mirror mazes, simulators, roller coasters, and rides for younger children such as caterpillar rides and trampolines.

Games and traditional sweets

The funfair also offers many games of skill and chance: rifle shooting, dart throwing, duck fishing, slot machines, and raffles. Food lovers can indulge in the traditional fairground sweets: cotton candy, candy apples, churros, crepes, and waffles. The festive and bright atmosphere of the funfair delights young and old in the cool autumn air of Berry.

An unmissable autumn event in the Indre

The Grande Foire de la Saint-Martin du Blanc is a major event in the calendar of events in the Indre department. It contributes to the commercial dynamism and liveliness of the town of Le Blanc, a sub-prefecture of the department and the capital of Brenne. This fair is also a time for reunion and conviviality for the people of the region, who remain faithful to this tradition that has spanned centuries. The funfair, open for three weeks, extends the event well beyond the single Sunday of the fair.