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Festival de l’Oh!: Filival takes you on a cruise...

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Last 30 June and 1 July, the French department of Val-de-Marne hosted the 7th Festival de l’Oh!. The event’s theme this year was Quebec and its majestic river, the Saint Laurent. The programme included music, dance, circus entertainment, fine arts, and exhibitions, offering visitors the opportunity to discover the area in a different light!

As with previous festivals, Filival offered its participants a special outing, and on the 1 July therefore a small group of them went on a cruise, a completely new experience for some! “It’s the first time I’ve used Filival and so the first time I’ve been on an outing with them. It’s very enjoyable and relaxing,” said Anh-Thu enthusiastically, while Françoise added, “This is my first Festival de l’Oh! but I do use Filival from time to time”.

Having boarded a river boat at the port of Choisy-le-Roi, the party cruised for nearly 45 minutes along the banks of the Marne, which had been specially decorated for the event. A bed, an armchair, musicians, and dancers: the journey was interspersed with surprising spectacles.

Bernard, a Filival participant for the past year, was delighted: “It’s been years since I last travelled by boat!” Dominique, his wife who accompanied him for the day, said: “We wanted to go on the outing to Mac-Val but we already had plans for the day. This time though we had nothing planned, so we took the chance.” She continued: “It has to be said that it’s not easy finding an event accessible to people with reduced mobility. This however is ideal and, what’s more, Filival takes care of everything.”

Brave crew members Rose-Hélène and Karima, educators at the ETAI home for people with special needs who accompany and support many participants, were in complete agreement: “It’s our first outing with Filival but we know the service well because many people from the home use it. It’s really great what Filival does!”

The time to return to port arrived all too quickly, but the outing wasn’t quite finished yet! Passengers were able to explore the banks and the many stands set up there, in a seemingly endless display; even some ponies had temporarily set up home!

Special mention deserves to be made here of the fact that the organisers of this year’s Festival de l’Oh! have once again offered many activities accessible to people with reduced mobility. Which is very much to the liking of Sérifé: “I’m coming back tomorrow to go kayaking!”

The final word was left to Isabelle, a Filival participant for 2 years now. When I asked her if she had enjoyed the outing, she replied straight away: “Oh yes!” See you next year then... with, we hope, a little more sunshine, as some participants pointedly remarked to me!

By Adeline Laurier