Every year at carnival time, the small coastal city of Menton on the French Riviera, just down the road from Nice, holds a Festival called La Fête du Citron – the Lemon Festival.
During this celebration, there are parades of floats, interspersed with marching bands and costumed entertainers, just like any other carnival parade.
But there’s one big difference, all of the floats are made of lemons and oranges. It’s an all-natural and refreshing change. But the real show-stopper is the exhibition of gigantic citrus fruit sculptures in the Biovès Gardens. Some of these figures can be up to 10 meters tall and use as much as 15 tons of fruit.
Legend has it that when Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden, Eve “borrowed” a lemon on her way out and tucked it into her fig leaf pocket. When she saw a place that was so beautiful it reminded her of the paradise she had lost, she lovingly planted it in the rich soil. Groves of lemon trees sprang up from Eve’s lemon and that became the town of Menton.
La Fête du Citron, was officially born in 1933. This lemon-based celebration quickly replaced the usual carnival events and the baskets of citrus fruit along the streets grew into the garden full of monumental citrus structures that we enjoy today.
14 February - 4 March, 2015
Menton Lemon Festival zings into spring
by Margo Lestz