The Olive Festival in Ollioules… in photos

Greetings dear readers and friends! Well, we are enjoying lovely, sunny weather after an unseasonably cold start to fall. The leaves are starting to change colors (so pretty!) but it’s still a great time to be outdoors – as witnessed by all the hikers, bikers, and beach fans roaming around town.

And what a nice weekend we had at the Olive Festival in Ollioules. This is another of the “highlights” or “musts” of the season. We look forward to it every year and with good reason. Besides taking place in a very picturesque, Provençal village, the festival organizers really go all out to provide a fantastic program of activities over the two days.

There is the traditional planting / blessing of an olive tree, parades, Provençal music, and stands full of everything “olive”– breads, tapenades, seasoned olives, and olive biscuits.

The mayor provides everyone with an opening “aperitif” on the first day, there is a “gastronomic” meal organized by Les Amis de l’Olivier (Friends of the Olive Tree), and an Aioli competition which pits locals against each other to see who makes the best of this traditional sauce / accompaniment to fish dishes.

Children have a chance to play with old-fashioned, wooden toys and cars of a “bygone” era and attend painting workshops.

My favorite activity from this year’s festival was seeing how olive oil is made – with the olives being pressed by a large stone wheel and then watching the oil being extracted by hand.

I hope you enjoy these photos from our visit to the festival and wishing you all a very bon-weekend!

-To learn more about the olive festival, please visit the Var West Tourism website.