All The Fun Of The Feria at Dax; marching bands, red cravats and Greek wine

Problem
What do I wear to the fair at Dax in France? (Annual fair in August, with bull fights. If you missed this year, consider booking for next year.)

Answer
Tourists and locals buy red cravats and red belts to wear with white clothes. This creates a feeling of unity, jollity and festivity.

The website tells you to bring white clothes. People wear white trousers or shorts and white blouses. The red cravat you can buy with the words Dax La Feria is triangular. The red belt is a tie belt, a long oblong which you tie with a double knot and one end hanging down long.

At the bull fight when the fight ends the riders make the horses step sideways around the ring with the horses' heads towards the audience. The audience stand and wave the triangular red cravats.

Glossary
English - French - Spanish
English Fair / festival - French fête - Spanish la feria - Portuguese a festa / feira

Videos To Watch
You tube has a video of the opening ceremony in the bullring or arena, showing everybody waving red cravats and red and yellow flags:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR8XTKvJlyY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR_Cc-5W47M&t=0s

This video shows the thousands of people in the street singing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSzo73f_xtQ

The closing music is the song Vino Griego, meaning Greek Wine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87cAtrts5A0

Here are marching bands, folklore groups, a man wrapped in a tuba, what look like bagpipes carried by a band in black, musical instrument like wind up musical boxes operated by turning a handle (I once saw a busker in London's underground using one and thought, that's for me, don't have to learn to play music, just turn the handle, but the giant music box turned out to cost over £1000!) Resembles the Rio carnival, all costumes as well as music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYMkHs6Phy0

If you understand French, a video in the cathedral shows all the bands celebrating Mass, and the curé (vicar, curate?) explaining the gifts of cravats. I understood from the voice over and his response that he had given gifts of the red Dax cravats to everybody attending the mass, but at the video end it appears that people thanking him are tying around his neck cravats of green and other colours to reciprocate.

The festivities end with fireworks. Another video shows the fireworks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTZOodACeiM

Information on museums, events and tourism in France:
http://www.dax-tourisme.com
http://uk.france.fr
Accommodation and attractions can also be found on
Tripadvisor
Google maps

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I have several posts on Dax. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Action For Summer: Packing; Pills; Preventing Heatstroke; Underground Malls

Top tips I picked up.

1 Wear light colour clothing.
That sends me re-packing my summer holiday suitcase. Do I need to remove all the black clothes and change them to white? The white clothes don't just look more summery. They keep you cool.

Did I wast my money buying black clothes? The black clothes such as tee-shirts with metallic palm trees are fine for indoors in icy air conditioning, in the cooler evening. But not if you are likely to be asked to go out for an afternoon walk and don't want to waste time changing clothes.

Those robes men wear in the middle east are right for outdoors in the sun. The black clothes women, and widows, often wear, are only suitable for indoors in air conditioning.

2 Drink water.
Not just for comfort. So you can perspire and cool off.

3 Recognise heatstroke.
If anybody is getting confused, cool them quickly with ice under the armpits.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/medications-cool-summer-heat/story?id=16724277

Where is it hot? In the South of North America but also in summer you can be sweltering in New York and Washington DC. I remember when I lived in Washington DC zig-zagging down the city streets in and out of shop doorways and diverting through department stores to cool myself.

In Singapore visitors from overseas go shopping in Orchard Road and complain the country is too hot. But running from the central crossroads along Orchard Road you can descend to Basement one or Basement two and walk about half a mile along the underground shops, full of cafes and shops and even an aquarium and market stalls and food courts. If you start at Tang's, or Orchard Station, you can walk from there underground across the road to other malls and hotels.

Pills
1 Keep them in your bag (US Purse) or pocket, not in luggage which might be stored in a hold or left out on the tarmac beside the plane.
2 Carry an insulated sandwich bag.
 (Americans when they say purse mean what the Brits call a handbag. What the Brits call a purse, the Americans would call a change purse or wallet.)

Water
USA
The USA is very good at providing drinking water in hotel on every other floor and in the lobby of many buildings and and hotels and waiting areas.

UK
In London there's now a water dispenser in the Passport office at Victoria.

In a hotel, you will often find water dispensers in the gym.

Worldwide
Remember to drink water provided free at many coffee shops, before or after you drink your coffee. Collect the water when you collect your coffee and make sure you and the family all drink a glass of water each before you all leave.

Angela Lansbury B A Honours, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

Follow me on Facebook, link to me on linkedIn, watch me performing poetry and explaining easy ways to remember grammar and spelling on YouTube.