February Festivities in Belgium

In an otherwise fairly dreary month, a few lively events help to brighten the days in Belgium before spring arrives.

The main event is Carnival with many cities around the country holding celebrations in the lead up to Ash Wednesday. This was my first year attending Carnival and I went to two different cities: Malmedy and Aalst. The celebrations involve local groups dressing up in a wide variety of costumes - there was everything from Le Petit Prince to La Folie Douce (après-ski) to country-themed outfits (Brazil, Peru, Nepal) to local traditional dress to people dressed as lettuce and tomatoes. There are parades around town with various musical groups including a pipe band, a brass band and drummers. There are also many "Giants" which are enormous figurines mounted on vehicles and interspersed throughout the parade. Many of the performers have choreographed dance routines and many throw oranges, sweets and confetti to the crowds which line the parade route. The Carnival events typically go on for several days in each town.

Malmedy is a small city in the east of Wallonia. It's a really beautiful area with nice walking routes nearby through the forest. The Carnival parade does a loop through town, continuing for several laps. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly with lots of interaction between the performers and the crowds. For example, people from the parade will pull audience members in to participate in fair games, songs and dances or to ride in their wagons and trailers for a short distance. There are many stands selling hot drinks around town and the afternoon quickly turns into a party throughout the city centre.

Aalst, on the other hand, is in the Flemish region, just half an hour from Brussels. It is a much bigger city with a far more extensive parade than the one in Malmedy. There are barriers lining the parade route and stands for people to sit in to watch the procession. There is more of a separation between performers and spectators and less interaction although sweets and oranges are still given out. The sheer number of performers, giants and decorated vehicles is an impressive sight - they just keep coming! I did not see the whole parade as there was a snow storm that day and after a couple of hours it was too cold to be standing still watching. Quite a different vibe to Malmedy but still the same party atmosphere throughout the city which is fun to be a part of.

There was not a big Carnival event in Brussels but there was a lights festival, Bright Brussels, which took place from the 12th-15th of February. There was a light trail marked by red street lights which guided people around the city to visit the 20+ light installations that were in place for the festival. It was a pretty extensive trail which involved a fair bit of walking and took several hours to complete. The exhibits were all very different which was nice to see. There were some interactive displays, some that ran on a loop and others with fixed lighting. I really enjoyed seeing all the different artists' work. There was also a live percussion show in Grand Place each night which was really spectacular. Around 25 drummers with illuminated drums giving a very energetic performance in freezing temperatures.