How all that began? In 1993, Alain Ribaut and the Mayor's brother-in-law suggested the idea of organizing a country music festival in Mirande. They considered that the climate and wide area of their motherland would become suitable for American music. Generally, Mirande in Gascony was always a musical town.
However, in 1993, the town inhabited only four thousand people and the town's administration was looking for the ways to refresh the festival season in order to attract more people to the place. The idea of two "entrepreneurs" seemed quite handy and the same year they launched the Mirande country music festival.
The inhabitants of Mirande, encouraged by the first festival performances, organized the Mirande Country Music Association in February 1993, which programmed the following event becoming a real success with the audience of thirty thousand people. Since then, the festival has developed and succeeded enormously and is considered the first and the biggest Festival of Country Music in Europe.
The Mirande country music festival 2005, lasting from the13th to 17th of July inclusive, consisted of:
- Country music concerts covering five days from 5p.m. to 5a.m.
- Election of Miss & Mister Country
- Bike Show, Bus Show (American cars)
- The first European Contest of the Western Dance
- Festival Off on the Place of Astarac (free access)
- More than hundred thousand visitors
- Cross-country race
The other attractions of the Mirande country music festival 2005 were hot-air balloon flights and the shows of American cars and Harley-Davidsons.
The festival offered great possibilities for shopping at its large market of two hundred and fifty stands and twenty restaurants. The visitors could see and buy Indian and Mexican jewelry, rare western clothes, records, cds and famous gastronomic goods of Gascony. The extra facilities of the Mirande country music festival 2005 provided all the comfort for its guests: a free admission for the children under twelve years old, nursery and baby-sitting for children, aged from one-five.
The organizers carefully planned the schedule of the Mirande country festival 2005 to satisfy all the tastes and preferences and to fill in every spare time-space. After the continuous performances, you could visit the Mirande country club and enjoy delicious dinner and excellent performances there. The most extravagant thing was the dance lessons during the festival, conducted by the professional trainers, though they were impossible to take. One of the most important and comfortable things for the travelers was that Mirande offered various ways of accommodation, including the Hotel of the Pyrenees, country cottages and French lodgings. The Mirande country music festival 2005 was actually a brilliant show for those, who appreciated the country music style, as they were able to see their favorites and honor the beginners.
Due to our advanced communication technologies, the Mirande music festival tickets are available online at the Mirande festival home site. It is also simple to observe and book an appropriate hotel accommodation online.