PRESS RELEASE

CONTENTSFête du Citron®, an international star p.3

• John Lemon tells the story of his festival p.4

• A Lemontrip through time p.5 (a look back at some key dates)

• Travel diary 1959/2019 p.6

• King Lemon, from Tokyo to Mexico p.7

The birth of a legendary festival… p.8

...and behind the scenes with its organisers p.10

Anatomy of the Menton Lemon

PGI means a new lease of life for the Lemon p.11

Roadmap, everything you need p.12 to know and more besides

It is prohibited to enter the venue with:

• Pets • Large suitcases or bags

• Disguises that may lead to confusion • Weapons, including artificial weapons

• Crackers and fireworks • Glass and metal containers • Coil bomb • Roller skates, skate board...

• Blunt, sharp or pointed objects

facebook.com/feteducitron

www.feteducitron.com

Details available at Menton Tourist Information Office / 04 92 41 76 76 Tickets and reservations - Menton Tourist Information Office / 04 92 41 76 95

Stays and trips / +33 (0) 04 92 10 51 82

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INTERNATIONAL STAR

In the late 1930s, when the French Riviera

witnessed the close of the “Belle Époque” era and,

with it, a decline in rich holidaymakers wintering

on the Mediterranean coast, the Menton town

council was keen to react and win over a new

clientèle, launching a new era of tourism. Thus, to

stand out from its neighbours on the Côte d’Azur

and come out on top, Menton bet the house on

what had made it famous for centuries, its golden

fruit, the famous Menton Lemon. Ainsi est née la

première Fête du CitronThis saw the creation of

the first Fête du Citron® festival.

Structures several metres high, articulated

designs and decorations with painstaking levels

of detail; 80 years later, the expertise of the

council’s staff is the envy of the whole world. From China to the USA, a large number of towns have

been inspired by this now-international festival

and have adopted their own version of it. Often

imitated but never bettered, this is a true

testament to this “home-made” event.

For the 87th year of the festival, the lemon capital

will be paying homage to all the cultures and

festivals that make the international scene a

kaleidoscope of traditions and entertainment.

In 2020, La Fête du Citron® presents “Festivals

from Around the World”!

New Orleans Carnival, the Mexican Dia de los

Muertos, the German Oktoberfest, the Irish St.

Patrick’s Day or even the Thai Water

Festival...some of the world’s most beautiful

celebrations will be on show for the public in

Menton, from 15 February to 3 March 2020, for a

joyful world tour.

The atmosphere will be festive, the colours

sparkling and the parades lively... step into a

spectacular universe that is one of a kind. Fifteen

tonnes of steel cover their high-vitamin costume

for this extraordinary event.

It is time to dream... and to party!

FÊTE DU CITRON®

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John LemonJohn Lemon, the little lemon with the bright

yellow smile who has been the mascot of the Fête

du Citron® since 2014, tells the story: “It all

began in 1928, in the gardens of the Riviera

Palace. The management put forward the idea of

an exhibition of flowers and citrus fruit displayed

in gold and silver-painted wicker baskets. My

grandfather was there in one of the baskets! He

often told me that the wealthy residents staying

in this luxurious establishment were so

enthusiastic about the event that it was repeated

over the following years. The Menton Florists’

Association also thought about celebrating this

fantastic fruit, which was enjoyed by the town in

such large quantities. So, in 1934, the Fête du

Citron® was organised. This was followed in 1935

with a new, carnival-style event lasting three days

on the square in front of the town hall. From 1936

onwards, the festival was extended to the Biovès

gardens.

The main aim was to “show the public all the fruit

varieties in the citrus family that were grown in

gardens in Menton and in the surrounding

countryside, as well as the plants, flowers and

exotic fruit that typified agricultural exports and

were a result of the mild climate”. Beds filled with

oranges and lemons were created, and a huge

clock was made by the town’s department for

gardens. My grandfather was full of praise for

this design because it was so unusual and

heralded the kind of creations that were to

come. Furthermore, every festival from 1955

onwards had its own theme.

The programme has been getting more intense

over the past few years. Enough Vitamin C is

therefore vital to keep all the key figures and

visitors going! There is always something

happening - day and night!

tells the story of his festival

5

through timeA Lemontrip

1928

1934

1935

1936

1953

1955

1957

The first exhibition of flowers and citrus fruit in the gardens of the Riviera Palace hotel.

The official creation of the Fête du Citron® under the patronage of the Menton Festival Committee

The first poster for the Fête du Citron® and the first parade.

The Fête du Citron® takes place over 6 days and is extended to the Biovès gardens for the first time. Nearly 10,000 lemons and 12,000 oranges are used to create designs on the ground.

The citrus fruits are now suspended from metal arches along the paths in the Biovès gardens.

For the first time, the Fête du Citron® has a theme - music!

The first free-standing designs appear. The town's technical department had the idea of creating wrought iron supports in order to re-duce the amount of fruit needed and present it in the best way possible. Following the great frost of 1956, the organisation was forced to look to Sicily to meet the increasing demand for fruit.

A new way of attaching fruit - the citrus fruit was no longer pierced, but was instead at-tached to the structures using elastic bands.

A new footbridge linked the two sections of the Biovès gardens

The length of the festival is increased to two weeks due to the number of visitors it is attracting.

A record year: 100 tonnes of citrus fruit were needed to decorate the floats and designs.

50th anniversary of the Fête du Citron®

The Fête du Citron® is cancelled because of the Gulf War.

The festival holds its first night-time parade to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The name ‘Fête du Citron®’ becomes a registered trademark.

The first articulated designs appear.

Creation of the ‘Jardins de Lumières’ (Gardens of Light). Visitors were able to enter the Biovès gardens at night for the first time.

2015: During the winter of 1955, tractors pulled the floats instead of donkeys 60 years later, the festival saw the appearance of its first self-propelled floats.

1959

1970

1978

1982

1991

1993

2000

2007

2015

1983

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1959 - 2019travel diary

1959 Flowers

1960 The little world of our rural areas

1961 Symphony in orange and gold

1962 Love

1963 Lemons throughout the ages

1964 Yé-yé bands

1965 Waterfalls of orange and gold

1966 The 4 Seasons

1967 The Signs of the Zodiac

1968 Lucky Charms

1969 King Traveller Lemon

1970 Music

1971 The Lemon and the Sea

1972 A Whole Programme

1973 A Trip to the Moon

1974 Lemons and China

1975 The Golden Fruit Congress has fun

1976 The Lemon at the Fair

1977 Every Flavour of Lemon

1978 A Journey through the History of Menton

1979 The Circus

1980 Reducing Waste

1981 Provence

1982 Jules Verne

1983 The Lemon’s Golden Anniversary

1984 Lemons without Borders

1985 The Cinema

1986 Stories and Legends

1987 Love and Passion

1988 The Wonders of the World

1989 If the History of France Could Talk

1990 Myths and Legends of the Mediterranean

1991 Mozart Year (cancelled)

1992 The ‘Fêtes Galantes’

1993 Europe Celebrates

1994 Enchanted Seascapes

1995 Disneyland comes to the Land of Lemons

1996 Asterix in the Land of Lemons

1997 Menton Monaco: a Tale of Princes

1998 Tintin in the Land of Lemons

1999 Lucky Luke in Menton

2000 The Fables of La Fontaine

2001 The Fairy Tales of Perrault

2002 Pinocchio

2003 Alice in Wonderland

2004 Walt Disney Studio

2005 Viva España

2006 Menton showcases the Carnivals of the

World/Guest of Honour: Brazil

2007 Menton showcases the Carnivals of the

World/Guest of Honour: India

2008 Menton showcases the Islands of the World/

2009 Menton showcases the Music of the World/

2010 Menton goes to the movies

2011 Menton celebrates the great civilisations

2012 Menton showcases the regions of France

2013 Menton - a secret stopover in around the

world in 80 days

2014 20,000 leagues under the sea

2015 Tribulations of a Lemon in China

2016 Cinecittà

2017 Broadway

2018 Bollywood

2019 Fantastic Worlds

For its 87th year, the Fête du Citron® is going around the world in search of the “Festivals of the World”. From the Mexican “Dias de los muertos” to the Japanese “O-Hanami”, traditional celebrations have been taking place at the four corners of the globe since the beginning of time and have been passed down from one generation to another. Featuring dancing, singing and artistic performances, these traditions are now being celebrated as part of a festive world tour.

Lemons celebrated from

Tokyo to Mexico

Saturday 15 and Friday 21 and 28 Februaryà from 20:30.

Events Taking Place Around the Festival

Music, cinema, shows and crafts

Enjoy a walk by night through the midst of the celebrations, featuring spectacular interplays of lights and bewitching rhythms. This cosmopoli-tan festival is influenced by rites and beliefs from around the world, and its technicolour excite-ment will dazzle the night sky. Embark on this marvellous voyage as night begins to fall.

Take a dreamlike stroll through its glittering pathways.

The Jardins de Lumières gardens

This year, the costumes have crossed frontiers for an exceptional stop-off in the town of the lemon. Step into this intercultural universe, somewhere between originality and rituals, and celebrate its traditions in sumptuous settings decorated with citrus fruit. Surrender to the beautiful colours and the mild Menton winter, as you watch the carnival procession go by!

From 15 February to 3 March 2020 Public opening at 14:00 on 15 February.

of the Biovès GardensVisit the enchanting pathways

Fall into line with the Chinese dragon, lantern in your hand; celebrate Hanami under the flowers of the Japanese sakura; parade through the lively streets of New Orleans... In Menton, nothing is impossible, and the parades of golden fruits will take you on a voyage across the time zones.

Frenetic and unmissable processions

Parade

14:30, Sunday 16, 23 February and 1 March 21:00, Thursday 20 and 27 February

There is also a wide range of events, shows, concerts and exhibitions taking place through-out the Fête du Citron®! In the town itself, there is a selection of street entertainment.

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Lemons celebrated from

The birth of a legendary festival…a legendary festival…

Staff are working hard to wrap up the 2018 Fête du Citron®, but the thought process on what the next theme was going to be has already begun in parallel for the festival’s organising committee, composed of representatives from the Municipal Technical Centre (CTM) and the Parks & Gardens and Events departments

January 2019

The initial reference boards are submitted to the Mayor, who selects one or two themes

April

The first seven floats are delivered in mid-October by the company responsi-ble for the metal framework

October Search for the decorative ac-cessories to be used to dec-orate the structures

November

Temporary staff recruited

NovemberThe footbridge linking the Biovès gardens is erected; 7 floats are now complete

NovemberThe safety dossier is put together to obtain autho-risation from the Prefecture

December

Groups are welcomed, parking is organised and the organisation of the parades is handled.

FebruaryAfter the festival, the metal structures are cut up, de-stroyed and recycled. The fruits and flowers are sold to the public. In two weeks, the Fête du Citron® will have dis-appeared completely.

MarchSteering committee

Municipal Technical Centre

Parks & Gardens department

Events Department8

The first scale models are presented, and are adapted as more details emerge as to the theme

JuneThe finished scale models are presented to the Mayor, who makes the final selection

August The search begins for compa-nies and troupes to star in the shows and entertainment

Mailshot sent out to artisans for the arts and crafts fair and the orchid festival

September

Decorations begin to be man-ufactured, a process that will take until mid-February.

SeptemberTemplates for the designs sub-mitted to the Gardens depart-ment, which begins its search for inspiration for decorating the lawns

September

Initial sketches made for the lawn designs

DecemberStaff rotas organised, procedures begun for accrediting lo-cals, journalists, staff members, etc...

January 2020All floats now delivered, metallic structures assem-bled and welded together, scaffolding for hanging fruit and power supply, palisades set up around the Biovès gardens, first shipment of citrus fruit is received and the decora-tion task begins.

January

The huge designs are trans-ported in sections from the workshops to the gardens at night on a special convoy of lor-ries, and the garlands of syn-thetic turf are received and laid.

January 7 days to go: The patterns are traced on the ground in the Biovès gardens.

Completion of the designs on the ground. The grass is put into position and the finishing touches made.

February

Continuation of the decoration task and disassembly of the scaffolding.

February

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Gilbert - Outdoor sound system department Experience: 40th Fête du Citron® / Role: looking after the sound and musical ambiance / Actions: Selecting and editing the music and sound effects for each structure / Strategically installing the audio equipment so as not to disturb the visitor experience / Accompanying music for the parades / Musical events in the town centre / Tool kit: Rock amp and SD card / His favourite part: The innovative aspect of each festival.

Caroline - Parks & Gardens Department Experience: 15th Fête du Citron® / Role: decorating the lawns of the citrus fruit exhibitions / Actions: Searching for inspira-tion / Creating the decorations for each scene / Designing the lawns, combining colours and materials / Applying the designs to the ground / Adding fruit and flowers to each lawn, making sure each centimetre is covered / Tool kit: pen-cil and imagination. Her favourite part: The creative freedom.

Michaël - Communication / Graphic Designer Experience: 7th Fête du Citron® / Role: Creating the graphical universe of the Fête du Citron® / Actions: Looking for inspira-tion / Presenting 3 graphic approaches / Defining the graph-ical universe on all media: posters, footbridge, vehicle decorations, bread bags, etc... / Tool kit: Image editing soft-ware (Photoshop). His favourite part: adding a touch of creativ-ity, and the fact that the theme changes every year.

Eliane - Events Department Experience: 47th Fête du Citron® / Role: Engineering the Fête du Citron® from A to Z / Actions: Proposing themes / Drawing up the programme / Managing the human, technical and financial resources / Ensuring the events are safe / Tool kit: Minute-by-minute schedule and unshakeable sang-froid / Her favourite part: The kind words and recognition from the public.

Behind the scenes with its organisers

Pascal - Municipal Technical Centre Workshops Experience: 23rd Fête du Citron® / Role: Creating the decorations and coordinating the participants in the abattoirs / Actions: Creat-ing all decorative elements made from plaster / Preparing the backgrounds for the painted artwork to be applied / Creating the accessories / Coordinating the different trades involved / Tool box: plaster, paintbrushes and experience of the festival / His favourite part: Seeing the way everything comes together in practice.

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Ingredients:

- 8 lemons - 4 whole eggs - 4 egg whites - 200g butter - 400g sugar - 1 pack shortcrust pastry

by pastry chef

Prato

• Blind-bake the tart base • For the lemon cream: Grate the zest of the lemons and juice them. In saucepan, combine the zest, juice and sugar. Add the whole eggs and the yolks, mixing constantly. Allow the mixture to thicken. When the cream begins to foam, re-move from the heat and work in the butter. Continue to mix until the butter has been fully incorporated into the cream. • Allow to cool. • Garnish the tart base with the cream and allow to cool until the cream sets.

History

PGI for the Lemon

lease of life The Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) is the culmination of a lengthy process of recognition, and has been held by the Menton Lemon since 2015. The cer-tification is based on strict specifications developed by the ‘Association pour la pro-motion du Citron de Menton (APCM)’ (As-sociation for the promotion of the Menton Lemon) with the support of the Institut Na-tional de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) (National Institute of Origin and Quality). To obtain the right to display the label, which is a guarantee of quality and responsibility, all producers must comply with the speci-fications and observe the specific growing practices involved. Although the regula-tions are very great in number, they are necessary to standardise production and promote the golden fruit. This production can reach up to 200 tonnes per year.

The APCM provides support for anyone, both professionals and private individu-als, wanting to take the plunge! This is il-lustrated by the Esatitude centre in Menton, which employs adults with dis-abilities to look after an orchard of 200 lemon trees.

In parallel with the revival of production, Menton, concerned largely with the use of its name, is planning a marketing cam-paign that will be equal to the golden fruit’s new international reputation.

means a new

Anatomy

• I

ND

ICA

TIO

N G

ÉOGRAPHIQUE PR

OT

ÉG

ÉE •

Forme elliptique Finely granulated rind Very pronounced aromatic essences Mildly acidic juice, with no bitterness Glowing yellow, giving it the nickname of “Golden Fruit”

HistoryMenton is the town of the lemon, and not just because it organises the largest festival dedicated to citrus fruit. Cultivation of the “golden fruit” began in the 15th century, and productions have been exported around the world since 1495. Even today, the Menton Lemon is famed for its unique flavour attributes, appreciated by the greatest chefs. Following the golden age (1740-1850), however, business declined and even ceased in 1956. In 1992, the town council decided to revive citrus fruit cultivation and twelve years later an association was created in order to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication, which was granted in 2015. Now that production has been reorganised and densified, the Menton Citron has reclaimed its position as one of the pillars of the local economy.

OF THE MENTON LEMON

LemonTart

The limits of the geographical area of the Menton Lemon took

account of the historical plantations of lemon trees, the old orchards to be rehabilitated and the dry stone walls

that encouraged its revival.

Did you know?

11

Roadmapeverything you need to

know and more besides

15 February > 3 March 2020 Exhibition of citrus patterns in the Biovès gardens

Craft Fair and Orchid Festival

Jardins de Lumières | 20:30 on Saturday 15, Friday 21 and 28 February Golden Fruit Parade | 14:30, Sunday 16, 23 February and 1 March

Night parade, followed by fireworks | 21:00, Thursday 20 and 27 February

PRICES

Citrus Design Display Exhibition Adults €12 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €6

Free for accompanied children under 6.

Golden Fruit Parade and Night Parade Adults grandstand seating €25 \ Enfant (6/14 ans) 10€ Adult gallery seating: €12 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €6

Free for accompanied children under 6.

Jardins de Lumières Adults €15 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €8

Package 1 (1 grandstand + 1 admission to the Exhibition of Citrus Patterns) Adults €32 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €15

Package 2 (1 gallery + 1 admission to the Exhibition of Citrus Patterns) Adults €20 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €10

Package 1 (1 grandstand + 1 admission to the Exhibition of Citrus Patterns + 1 Jardins des Lumières) Adults €42 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €22

Package 2 (1 grandstand for night and day parade + 1 admission to the Exhibition of Citrus Patterns + 1 Jardins des Lumières) Adults €64 \ Children (aged 6 to 14) €32

Craft Fair and Orchid Festival (free admission)

Group rates by reservation at the Tourist Information Office - +33 (0)4 92 41 76 95

12 Press contactMarianne Cipan

+33 (0)4 92 41 76 53 / +33 (0)6 73 47 89 11

marianne.cipan@ville-menton.fr