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This August, the French islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon, situated in the Northern Atlantic, off the Canadian coast, celebrated another edition of their Basque Festival, organized by the Zazpiak Bat Basque club and the local Basque Pilota League. Neighboring clubs such as Euskaldunak Quebec and the New England Basque Club also attended. Moreover, from the latter also came aizkolaris and other rural athletes who provided a spectacular exhibition. Ander Caballero, Delegate of Euskadi in the US and Canada, was also there.

Saint Pierre, Northern Atlantic.  The islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon celebrated their 33rd annual Basque Festival from August 11-21st, with various activities first in Saint Pierre and later on the neighboring island.  The festival was organized by the local Zazpiak Bat Basque club and the Basque Pilota League. The pilota matches were a large part of the program with exhibitions and tournaments that took place at Saint Pierre’s fronton. 

Other highlighted events included the Basque rural sport exhibitions that were provided by the Herri Kirolak Group from the New England Basque Club, in the US, which attended the festival for the very first time. New England isn’t too far from the islands, so this first visit could be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the two clubs. New England based aizkolari, Riki Lasa, offered an exhibition together with athletes from the Basque Country such as Andde Arbenoitz and Christophe Sanchez, among other, in front of a large audience.

The festivities were also attended by members of the Euskaldunak Basque Club in Quebec, headquartered in Montreal. Ander Caballero, Delegate of Euskadi in the US and Canada, was also present. The musical entertainment was provided by Tristan eta Horeba, a group from the Basque Country, which performed in the evenings and at the festival dances.