The members of the Foix Terre d’histoire association held their general meeting on March 24, at the Lucien-Goron school. Pascale Ribeiro and Arnaud Da Cunha, co-presidents, speak on important issues.
The 2022 report of the Foix Terre d’histoire association was drawn up on March 24, at the Lucien-Goron school, during the general assembly. The deficit is reduced, thanks to new activities. The structure, with growing notoriety, is still looking for volunteers and has launched a new challenge for May 2023, announce Pascale Ribeiro and Arnaud Da Cunha, the co-presidents.
The terms that define your association are always warm. What makes your success?
Arnaud Da Cunha: We are an association but also a big family, with values that we carry and pass on. It is a place where there is benevolence and solidarity. In 2020, we made masks to distribute to local associations such as the Red Cross. Originally, the association was created so that everyone was identical in costume.
Pascale Ribeiro: There is benevolence, we understand that when we join the association. Everyone has their own story, but we tell the same story. We are a big family. But we still need volunteers!
How many volunteers do you need?
PR: Currently, there are 150 members and 80 volunteers. We would need 40 additional volunteers for the scenes, the changes. And, it is necessary to renew the generations.
How much of your time should you give?
ADC: There are 14 performance dates but we don’t have to be there at all. We invest ourselves to our measure, the more we will be present at the performances, the more important the role will be. If you want to do some performance, just come to the last week of July.
What were the highlights of 2022?
ADC: In addition to the show, for 4 years, we have wanted to meet the public elsewhere. We participated in the historical costume festival in Albi. We also had great success with Foix Terre d’Horreur, staged for Halloween at the Théâtre de Lespinet. On two evenings, 400 people came.
PR: It helps unite volunteers all year round. We realized that Foix lives a lot in the summer and therefore organizing Foix Land of Horror in October was great. We must create meetings so as not to lose the thread with the volunteers.
How will the summer show be, version 2023?
PR: The staging has changed, with new dances, volunteer movements, other songs and lights, other projections on the castle.
ADC: There will also be songs from Grand Corps Malade, Daft Punk, very different music unrelated to the era in history but which take on their full meaning. We have also returned to basics, putting the volunteer at the center of the show.
New for this year?
ADC: We have planned the night of the fire on August 7th. Two fire companies will perform at the open-air theater. On August 15, a show will take place during the day, but it remains to be defined, still at the open-air theater. We are especially embarking on a big bet, on May 12 and 13. We want to offer a theatrical paid visit in the streets of Foix, led with one or two guides, with stops at emblematic places.
Outings planned outside Foix? Even abroad?
ADC: For the moment, it is not planned but we are always interested if we are invited to other festivals. For the foreigner, it is complicated, the organization of the show requires a lot of time. We practice the rental of historical costumes. This year, costumes left for the Carnival of Venice and in Spain.
A deficit to reduce
The association has a deficit of €18,000 in 2022. It was €21,000 in 2021. A deficit caused by the Covid years and the reduced public gauges, associated with an additional cost of raw materials. “The new show was created in 2022, it was necessary to pay for the creation, the soundtrack, the accessories, the workforce… The theatrical visit is set up with volunteers to bring in revenue. The overall budget of the association oscillates between 200,000 and 250,000 €.
