Nuit des Epouvantails

Last night, the streets of Morges were full of fire, drums, and balloon effigies of scarecrows. It was one of the most intense events I have ever experienced and it was blocks from our flat. Every year in Morges they hold " La Nuit des Epouvantails" (The Night of the Scarecrows).

As my French is still very poor I'm dependent on internet translators (Babelfish and Google), but below is a brief translation from the Festival website:

In the year 1387, the scarecrows in the Morges countryside came to life, driven by a mysterious force. They tormented the people who lived and worked in the vineyards and prevented anyone who wanted to harvest the mature grapes from leaving their home. These events were the result of a broken commitment given by the tenants. They had promised to provide grapes, in exchange for the protection of the vines against the birds. The people quickly acted to put an end to the spell by burning the king of the scarecrows.

Today the people of Morges celebrate the autumn grape harvest by re-enacting this event in the castle square of Morges. Afterwards, a parade of vintners, drums in the lead, travel down from Denens through the streets of Morges, and at its head, a giant scarecrow.

Sam, Zoe and I went to the play at the castle, which none of us understood, but enjoyed nonetheless. Afterwards we dropped a tired and cold Sam off at home and Zoe and I went back out into the chaos.

We walked through the streets with the scarecrows and drums trying to stay clear of the men firing flares and fireworks in the street. From there we went to the sports park (across the street from our flat) to see one of the most spectacular fireworks shows I have ever seen. The music, costumes, and pyrotechnics were amazing.

As a final high note to the evening Zoe was given one of the balloon scarecrows that was paraded through the street. It has to be 8 feet tall and will put any future balloon sculptures to shame. It's currently in the corner of our living room and we are hoping it stay alive until Grandma and Grandpa McCauly come to visit later this week.