The Vinon-sur-Verdon Transhumance Festival (Fête de la Transhumance) is an annual cultural event celebrating the historic migration of sheep to mountain pastures. It honors traditional pastoral crafts and local producers through a large open-air market and activities in a scenic riverside setting 1 2. Typically in early June, the festival day features some 1,000 sheep herded through the village (accompanied by vintage tractors and Provencal music), demonstrations of shepherding arts (dog herding, wool shearing), and folkloric performances 3 4. Dozens of market stalls sell artisanal foods and crafts, and the organizers provide free refreshments and music throughout the day. The event is organized by Vinon-sur-Verdon’s town council and festival committee as a revival of this local pastoral tradition 2 3.
Transhumance – the seasonal livestock migration – is a centuries-old tradition in Provence. Vinon-sur-Verdon historically lay on a transhumance route: its village square (with centenary plane trees and a fountain) served as a rest stop for flocks moving from the Crau plains up to alpine pastures 1 2. The festival reenacts this heritage, highlighting traditional skills (sheep shearing, herding) and products (local cheeses, wool crafts) that define the region’s pastoral culture.
Venues and routes
Esplanade des Abeillons · Vinon-sur-Verdon
The dates that shape the visit.
Date being verified
Visitors line the route to watch the colorful caravan of shepherds, sheep, tractors and musicians begin the day’s festivities.
Attendees gather on the riverbank to greet the flock, enjoy Provencal folk music, and participate in free activities as the festival atmosphere begins in earnest.
Onlookers witness the symbolic departure of the flock amid music and fanfare as the village completes one cycle of the pastoral year.
Reference notes for once this becomes a real plan.
Moderate crowds