Video. “There’s a magical side”: behind the scenes of the Bournat Park night show in Dordogne
In Le Bugue, the Summer Nights are in full swing, with the famous fireworks display as the finale, always eagerly awaited by the public.
T o attract the public, the Bournat Park, located in Le Bugue (Dordogne), has a simple but well-established technique after dark. Here, there's no wolf trap; simply bait foodies of all ages with the tantalizing smell of roasted pork.
Despite the 40°C temperatures hitting the whole of Périgord on Monday, August 11, many people still came to watch, with their mouths watering, Laurent Bernat, the park's operations manager, busy removing the ham hocks from the wood fire and then carving them.
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"With the fire behind me, it should reach 60°C! But hey, that's what we need for the hundred or so meals we're expecting," he says with a smile, his white shirt stained as much with sweat as with pork fat.
Several tradesFor the past fifteen years, the Bournat Park, subtitled "a day in 1900", has lived to the rhythm of the last century, with its attractions ranging from the Ferris wheel to the carousel, both more than a hundred years old, and its artisans who were once found in every French village.
On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and, starting this year, Mondays, the tourist site offers late-night openings and is open from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The 1,400 brave souls who braved the heat on August 11 were able to enjoy demonstrations by the cutler, the miller, and the soap maker.
Jason Guenard, a baker who makes his bread in a recreated oven, particularly appreciates these late-night openings: "It gives a rather special atmosphere. It's more of a festive atmosphere. People are attentive, and I can go into more detail."
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For his part, Alain Ferry, in period costume, tells the audience about the adventure of aviator Louis Blériot and his famous Blériot XI, with which he crossed the Channel for the first time in 1909. The enthusiast, as much a ferryman as a maker, is also in the middle of a project: to reproduce the famous plane identically. "The objective is not to make it fly (we wouldn't be allowed to do that anyway), but to really reproduce it on a 1 to 1 scale," he says.
“People are much less energetic in the evening. They are happy to chat, and the atmosphere is even better.”
After a career in the wine trade, Alain Ferry embarked on this adventure in April and also enjoys these nighttime get-togethers. "People are much less energetic in the evening. They're happy to chat, and the atmosphere is even better," he says. Especially since his location is prime, just behind the windmill esplanade, where people are eagerly awaiting the evening's grand finale: the fireworks.
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Since mid-afternoon, William Épinoux and Nicole Robin, from the specialist company Silex, based in Bordeaux, have been busy placing the forty rockets and other fireworks that will explode joyously at exactly 10:30 p.m.
Despite the heatwave and drought, Le Bournat was still allowed to hold the event. "We're not in a risk zone; we have the Vézère River right next to us. There's obviously no such thing as zero risk, but we're here to prevent it," says Nicole Robin. Several fire extinguishers were positioned, and the lawn in the shooting range was watered beforehand.
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The professional is used to the exercise. For over thirty years, she has set off numerous fireworks displays, from small to gigantic. "A few years ago in Paris, we had to prepare one for an entire week. There's a magical side to it," she recalls.
Much less important, the Bournat one still contains a few surprises, with its video honoring the fireworks makers of yesteryear, then the lighting of the fireworks. Today, electronics are involved: no longer need to stretch your arm far to avoid burning yourself when lighting, but it is absolutely necessary to connect everything correctly and synchronize the boxes.
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The profession has changed a lot, but the passion remains intact. "I love the ephemeral aspect of fireworks; we work for days and days, creating, thinking about the scenography. And suddenly, everything is gone..." says the pyrotechnician before picking up a torch and starting the show.
Bournat Park
Synchronized with a sound and light show, the red, blue, and yellow rockets sparkle in a detonation that delights even the youngest, before the apotheosis, led to a roaring drum. All these lights highlight the blades of the Bournat mill and their explosion resonates, for a few minutes, throughout the Vézère valley.
