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Popular festival · Liège
Around August 15, the Outremeuse neighborhood in Liège celebrates the Assumption with a procession of the Black Virgin, a Mass in Walloon, a giants’ parade, concerts and lots of péket, culminating in the symbolic burial of Matî l'Ohê.
In the photo: Liège
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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August 15 celebrations in Outremeuse — Liège
Around August 15, the Assumption feast; the main day is August 15 and the closing is August 16.
August
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Outremeuse is the Liège neighborhood on the other side of the Meuse River that humorously proclaims itself a free republic. Every year around August 15, the Assumption feast, the neighborhood organizes the city’s biggest popular celebration, mixing religious rites, folklore and street partying.
The 15th begins with the Mass celebrated in Walloon and the procession of the Black Virgin of Outremeuse, a 16th-century image from the Saint Nicholas church. The program includes a children’s procession, performances at the Tchantchès puppet museum and the grand procession of the neighborhood’s giants. Tchantchès, the wooden puppet who is Liège’s popular hero, and his companion Nanesse are everywhere.
The streets fill with stalls, music and bars, and the festivities continue into the night with concerts at Place Delcour. People drink péket, the local juniper eau-de-vie, and eat boûkètes, buckwheat pancakes, and stewed pears. On the 16th, a burlesque funeral procession carries Matî l'Ohê, the bone that symbolizes the festival, to be buried, bringing the celebrations to an end.
For anyone visiting Liège in August, it’s the most direct way to experience Walloon folklore and the city’s popular side.
The Mass in Walloon and the procession of the Black Virgin on the morning of August 15. The giants’ procession of Outremeuse. Puppet shows at Musée Tchantchès. The burial of Matî l'Ohê on the 16th.
To reach Outremeuse simply cross the Meuse on foot from Liège city center. The neighborhood becomes pedestrian-only during the festival; go on foot or by public transport. The 15th is the busiest; the evening of the 14th and the 16th give a taste of the festivities with fewer people.
Péket, Liège’s juniper eau-de-vie, served in small glasses, sometimes flavored. Boûkètes, buckwheat pancakes with raisins. Stewed pears (cûtès peûres) and the neighborhood’s street food stalls.
August 15 is a public holiday in Belgium and the festival attracts people from across the country; book accommodation in Liège in advance. Check the program published by the city and Liège tourism.
In the city
Flavors of Belgium
August
AugustOn the weekend of the fourth Sunday in August, from Friday to Monday.
On the weekend of the fourth Sunday in August, Ath celebrates its ducasse with the wedding of the giant Goliath, David’s fight against Goliath on the Grand-Place, and the procession of the giants through the streets.
AugustIn mid or late August, over four days from Thursday to Sunday.
Pukkelpop brings together rock, alternative, electronic and hip‑hop across several stages set on fields and woodlands in Kiewit, north of Hasselt, in August.
AugustEvery two years, in even-numbered years, for about four days over the long weekend around August 15. · Every two years
Every two years, in mid‑August, the ground of Brussels’ Grand-Place is covered with a carpet of begonias and dahlias featuring a different design each edition, which remains in place for about four days.
Your questions
During the week of the Assumption. The main day is August 15, and the festival ends on August 16 with the burial of Matî l'Ohê.
It is Liège’s traditional juniper eau-de-vie, served in small glasses and very present at the Outremeuse festivities.
He is Liège’s popular hero, a wooden puppet from the puppet theatre and a symbol of the Outremeuse neighborhood and the August 15 festival.
Festivals and events in Belgium
February/MarchFrom Carnival Sunday to Shrove Tuesday, the three days before Ash Wednesday, in February or March depending on the date of Easter.
The Binche carnival, in the province of Hainaut, culminates on Shrove Tuesday with the Gilles, figures wearing wax masks and ostrich-feather hats who dance through the streets to the sound of drums and throw oranges to the crowd.
February/MarchFrom Saturday to midnight on Fat Tuesday, before the start of Lent, in February or March, depending on the date of Easter.
The Cwarmê is Malmedy’s carnival, in the Ardennes: four days when masked figures such as the Haguètes take to the streets, everything is spoken and sung in Walloon, up to the burning of the Haguète on the final night.
March/AprilOn Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter, in March or early April; from Saturday to Monday.
Three weeks before Easter, Stavelot celebrates Laetare with the Blancs Moussis, figures dressed in white with long red-nosed masks who go through the town throwing confetti at the crowd.
May/JuneOn the weekend of the Holy Trinity, the Sunday after Pentecost, between May and June, depending on the date of Easter.
On Trinity weekend, Mons carries the relic of Saint Waltrude on a gilded carriage through the streets and stages the Lumeçon, Saint George’s fight with the dragon, on the Grand-Place.
MayEvery three years, on the second Sunday in May. · Every three years
Every three years, on the second Sunday in May, Ypres celebrates cats with the Kattenstoet, a parade of floats, giants and costumes that culminates with the town jester throwing stuffed cats from the Lakenhalle bell tower.
May/JuneOn Ascension Day, a Thursday forty days after Easter, in May or early June.
On Ascension Day, the relic of the Holy Blood is carried out of the basilica on Burg Square and processes through Bruges’ medieval centre in a parade with biblical scenes, singing, music and horses, an intangible UNESCO heritage event.
