14:30 Welcome

15:00 Beginning of festivities

Feral will begin with an afternoon of games on the Josaphat Park plain, around the Buvette Sint-Sebastiaan, to immerse ourselves in a festive, joyous atmosphere and discover the folklore of the Royal Guild Saint Sebastien of Schaerbeek.

The following activities will be on offer:

1) Introduction to vertical pole archery - La Guilde Royale Saint Sébastien de Schaerbeek (BE)

Registration on the day from 14:30 to 15:00

The Guilde Royale Saint Sébastien de Schaerbeek introduces you to the finesse of traditional vertical pole archery. Come and explore this centuries-old tradition, where since 1598 enthusiasts have combined strength and precision to aim at small feathered targets at the top of a 28m-high pole. From medieval times to the present day, this captivating sport combines community, skill and heritage.

2) The Bucolic Buvette - an exhibition of works by the Guild's artists

The Royal Guild Saint Sebastien of Schaerbeek is a place that welcomes everyone. The Guild and its sport inspires its artist members. An exhibition of their work will be on show in the buvette.

3) edible - fede fantini (BE)

fede fantini will be offering drinks with magical virtues, decoctions and infusions made from wild plants gleaned during the summer. They will be inspired by the recipes of the 12th-century Benedictine Saint Hildegarde of Bingen.

4) D'argent, à la traverse dentée de sable - OSP (BE)

Open Source Publishing (OSP) will be giving a workshop on creating and making coats of arms on fabric. Using a database of medieval coats of arms from Belgian communes, you will remix heraldic symbols to create new meanings. These coats of arms will be drawn on fabric using a pen-plotter (a mechanical drawing tool that uses pens) and will become badges, chasubles, t-shirts, shields, etc.

5) Giulia Piana and Chiara Monteverde powered by Micha’s Amateur Theatre Group (for professionals) (BE)

Description coming soon.

17:00 SLOWED LANDSCAPES - Moni Wespi

A group of slow-moving costumed performers attempt to blend into the park.

To know more about the SLOWED LANDSCAPES project.

18:00 Presentation of the exhibition - McCloud Zicmuse (BE)

We will be greeted by McCloud Zicmuse, Feestbestuur (feast organiser) of the Royal Guild Saint Sebastien de Schaerbeek, who will present the exhibition in the buvette.

18:15 Guilds, brotherhoods, trades, what differences? - Chloé Deligne (BE)

The aim of this talk is to give a brief overview of the different types of social groups, and in particular the “military” brotherhoods, that existed in Brussels in the last centuries of the Middle Ages, and to show the political and social role that each of them played in urban life. For behind the words lie varied and complex realities, often far removed from the images reconfigured by contemporary imagination.

19:00 Concert by Linus Vandewolken

We will close the day with a concert by Linus Vandewolken, a hommel-player (a string instrument dating back to medieval times) inspired by the gentle way of life in Flemish Pajottenland. After years of entertaining his family in his village of Niemandaal, this robust old baron honours us by sharing his repertoire in public.

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Bios

The Royal Guild of Saint Sebastien of Schaerbeek (BE)

The Royal Guild Saint Sebastien of Schaerbeek (BE) is one of the few surviving archers' guilds in the Brussels region. It has been practising vertical pole archery since (at least) 1598. Like many archers' guilds, it is descended from the medieval urban militias that were set up to defend citizens, and which evolved into sporting societies. Over the past 427 years, the Guild has survived Spanish, Austrian and Dutch rule, as well as the French Revolution, while practising their sport on the valley sides of Schaerbeek. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Guild has taken up residence in Josaphat Park. For a long time, the sport was reserved to a small community of initiates, but in the last fifteen years, the Guild has opened to a wider public. Every Wednesday from April to October, the members meet for a training session, during which everyone is welcome to take part in an initiation. Members train not only in the hope of becoming the Guild's "king" or "queen" (i.e. champion) for a year, but also to defend the Guild's colours in competitions organised in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

McCloud Zicmuse (BE)

A multi-faceted artist, McCloud Zicmuse weaves together performance, printing, textiles, pottery and music. Currently Prince of the Schaerbeek Carnival and (2022) King of the Royal Guild of Saint Sebastien of Schaerbeek, McCloud is passionate about the instruments, props and rituals of ancient Greece and medieval Brussels. Originally from the United States, he has been living in Brussels since 2008. He plays a number of characters, including the hommel player Linus Vandewolken, and takes part in various musical projects such as Ton Mité.

fede fantini (BE)

For several years now, fede fantini has been conducting research that combines art and cooking in public space. The most recent, and edible, evolution of this project is at the crossroads between wandering and witchcraft. It's an experimental practice of healing and delicious recipes based on wild plants gleaned in the city.

OSP (BE)

OSP is a graphic design collective based in Brussels. They work on typography, websites, web-to print tools and plotters. They exclusively use free and open source software (F/LOSS). Through their projects they question software as cultural objects and modes of collaboration between graphic designers, artists, cultural institutions and schools. They question the influence and affordances of digital tools through the practice of (commissioned) graphic design, teaching and applied research.

Giulia Piana & Chiara Monteverde powered by Micha’s Amateur Theatre Group (for professionals) (BE)

Coming soon!

Chloé Deligne (BE)

Chloé Deligne (b. 1972) is a historian, trained as a medievalist, researcher at FNRS and teacher at ULB. Some of her work has focused on urban social groups (butchers, brotherhoods, etc.) in the Middle Ages (in Brussels and Mons), their spatial deployment and their political role. With her colleague and accomplice Claire Billen, she recently published an article on the welcome given by the people of Brussels to Princess Joan of Castile in 1496, in which the military brotherhoods and rhetorical chambers played a very important role in staging the event.