Sommaire
From 25 to 27 September 2026, the Natural Colours Festival returns to Lauris for its 5th edition. Over three days, concerts, performances, workshops, guided visits and exhibitions invite visitors of all ages to explore pigments, dye plants and traditional skills related to colour, throughout the village, at the château and in the Dye Plant Garden.
© Ville de Lauris
The Natural Colours Festival brings together art, botany, craftsmanship and heritage around a shared theme: the colours offered by nature. The programme unfolds across several locations in Lauris, from the château courtyard to the Salle des Arcades, as well as the terraces and the Dye Plant Garden.
Over three days, visitors can discover the plants used to produce natural dyes and try their hand at ochre painting, Tataki Zomé, indigo Shibori, enamelling and raw earth techniques. Concerts, performances, storytelling, guided tours and encounters complete the programme.
This 5th edition is an invitation to discover, touch, experiment with and understand colour, from plants and natural pigments to the artistic techniques and traditional skills that transform them.
Download the 2026 programmeFrom the Colour Trail to the opening concert, this first day offers a gentle introduction to the world of the festival.
Dye Plant Garden → Durance → Commune Ferme
Starting from the Dye Plant Garden, set off to discover the first Colour Trail, part of the “School of Colour” project supported by the Région Sud and the Luberon Regional Nature Park. The walk continues towards the Durance before reaching Commune Ferme for a shared meal.
Registration required · Limited to 10 participants · Register before 22 September
jmbretegnier@gmail.com
Leisure park → Dye Plant Garden
A plant has mysteriously disappeared from the conservation garden. Clues, riddles and witnesses await young detectives as they try to solve the mystery. This activity is organised by the leisure centre, starting at the leisure park and finishing at the Dye Plant Garden.
Dye Plant Garden
Take part in a collective mural on large canvases using natural paints, led by Jean-Marc Bretegnier.
View workshop detailsSalle des Arcades
Meet Inge Boesken Kanold and discover an exhibition born from forty years of research into ancient purple dye. More than 25 works retrace her exploration of this rare pigment, once extracted from murex shells.
Château courtyard · Free
Head to the Caribbean to open the festival! Ten musicians from Marseille and the Luberon blend kompa, zouk, calypso and salsa in a festive, dance-filled concert driven by brass and percussion.
Find out moreGuided visits, workshops, cooking, storytelling and performances set the pace for this second day, before an evening of music in the château courtyard.
Meet in front of the Fontaine du Canard
Discover Lauris with Lucienne Ferreri on a historical tour of the village based on the theme “The Colours of Time”.
Cours des créateurs · 10 am to 1 pm and 2.30 pm to 4 pm · Pay what you wish
With Florence Charmasson, learn the technique of tempera painting using ochres from Roussillon.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden
Botanical gardener Florent Valentin guides you through plants used to extract dyes for textiles, cosmetics and food. A tour to learn more about the history and uses of this botanical garden dedicated to dye plants.
Terrasse des Arcades · 10 am to 12.30 pm · Free
Cook with local, organic and seasonal produce, then enjoy the dishes during the colourful banquet.
View workshop detailsTerrasse des Arcades
Work together to create a giant mandala using natural materials.
View workshop detailsTerrasse des Arcades
Create a mask using ochre, one of the Luberon’s emblematic natural colours.
View workshop detailsTerrasse des Arcades · Yurt
Lauris media library moves into the yurt to share a selection of picture books about colour with younger visitors. Ages 3 and up.
Salle des Arcades · 11 am, 2.30 pm, 4 pm and 5 pm
In front of a nine-panel narrative tapestry, entirely handmade and dyed with plant-based colours, Chiara Caruso sings and tells, in Neapolitan and French, a story inspired by a traditional song from southern Italy. Each performance lasts 15 minutes and is followed by an exchange about the tapestry and plant dyeing.
Château courtyard · 11 am, 2.30 pm and 4 pm · €20
Enamel and decorate a cup or small bowl with Adeline Dutel.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden · Pay what you wish
Discover how henna is prepared and choose a small temporary tattoo.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden
A colourful refreshment stand, hot and cold drinks, snacks and a presentation of the Colour Trails are available throughout the day.
At 3 pm: meet François Duconseille and Jean-Marc Bretegnier, designers of the object trail.
Terrasse des Arcades · 12.30 pm to 2 pm
Take a seat at a large communal table and share local, seasonal produce prepared during the morning cooking workshop. A meal created by the Café Villageois around the flavours and colours of the region.
Pay what you wish · Limited places · Booking recommended: cafevillageois@aumaquis.org
Dye Plant Garden · 2.30 pm to 6 pm
Tataki Zomé, natural painting and indigo Shibori: three techniques to try freely throughout the afternoon.
View all 3 workshopsTerrasse des Arcades · Story at 4 pm · Workshop at 5 pm
Two events devoted to silk: at 4 pm, a family storytelling session follows a little girl who discovers a mysterious box in her grandparents’ attic and traces the thread of her family history back to silkworms, traditional gestures and the legends surrounding this craft. At 5 pm, a sericulture workshop introduces visitors to cocoons, silkworms and the techniques used in silk spinning.
View workshop detailsEspace Bloch
Les Filles d’AVA transform current events, testimonies and stories into words, songs and movement. Directed by Hugo Dutech, with Laure Florentin on vocals and music, the performance blends songs and poetry to explore the human condition, migration and voices that are too often overlooked.
Château courtyard · Free
Two voices lead the Jukin’ Mamas: Katie Gillespie, born in New Orleans, and Caroline Savon, a Marseille-based singer and double bassist. Joined by their musicians, they bring a lively, danceable New Orleans jazz sound infused with blues and pop jazz.
Find out moreGuided visits, workshops, performances and encounters continue the exploration of natural colours before the final events and the closing of the festival.
Cours des créateurs · 10 am to 1 pm and 2.30 pm to 6 pm · Pay what you wish
With Florence Charmasson, learn the technique of tempera painting using ochres from Roussillon.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden
Botanical gardener Florent Valentin guides you through plants used to extract dyes for textiles, cosmetics and food, while exploring the links between botany, history and ecology.
Terrasse des Arcades
The À Fleur de Mirettes company invites young children to follow Papillotte into a world of scarves, hoops, bolas, balls, music, magic and clowning.
For children aged 6 months to 6 years
Dye Plant Garden · Ages 4 and up
With Maud Louise-Marie, take part in creating a collective animal sculpture using raw earth.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden
A colourful refreshment stand, hot and cold drinks, snacks and a presentation of the Colour Trails are available throughout the day.
Dye Plant Garden
Meet Jérémie Terris, a grower of dye plants, and discover his journey from archaeological management in Aix-en-Provence to cultivating plants used to produce natural colours.
11 am, 2.30 pm and 4 pm · €20
Enamel and decorate a cup or small bowl with Adeline Dutel.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden · 2.30 pm to 6 pm
Tataki Zomé, natural painting and indigo Shibori: three techniques exploring natural colours.
View all 3 workshopsSalle des Arcades
Visual artist Violaine Barrois presents her research around the Étang de Berre, where she extracts purple dye from the invasive gastropod Rapana venosa. Her work creates a dialogue between contemporary ecology and ancient dyeing techniques.
Under the lime tree · Ages 12 and up · €15
A guided movement experience with headphones, inspired by Danse Initiatique®.
View workshop detailsDye Plant Garden
Continue and complete the collective mural begun on Friday with Jean-Marc Bretegnier.
View workshop detailsTerrasse des Arcades · Yurt
The storytellers from the Lambesc workshop “Gens de paroles” settle into the yurt to share stories, humour, emotion and poetry.
Salle des Arcades
The festival concludes with the exhibition “Purple, a colour from the sea”, with a closing event in the presence of artist Inge Boesken Kanold.
Painting with ochres, printing plant shapes, dyeing with indigo, modelling raw earth or even cooking with colour: the Natural Colours Festival invites visitors to experiment with materials, pigments and traditional skills. Workshops to dip into throughout the weekend, for both children and adults.
Pigments & colours
Ochres, plants and mineral or plant-based pigments become creative materials. Several techniques reveal how colour appears, sets and transforms.
Tempera painting with Roussillon ochres
With Florence Charmasson, discover this egg-tempera painting technique before displaying your creation in the château courtyard.
Saturday and Sunday · 1-hour workshop · Pay what you wish
Throughout the afternoon, wander through the Dye Plant Garden and try three techniques based on natural colours.
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September · 2.30 pm to 6 pm
Dye Plant Garden
Tataki Zomé
Hammer plants directly onto fabric to print their shapes and colours using this Japanese botanical printing technique.
Natural painting
With Philippe Titone, learn how to prepare paint using natural mineral or plant-based pigments, then decorate small wooden objects.
Indigo Shibori
Discover natural indigo dyeing and create your own patterns on fabric. Fabric pieces are provided; an €8 contribution is only required if you wish to make a tenugui.
Collective mural “In Motion”
Take part in a shared artwork created on large canvases using natural paints, led by Jean-Marc Bretegnier. Begun on Friday evening, the mural continues and is completed on Sunday in the Dye Plant Garden.
Friday at 5.30 pm, then Sunday at 5 pm · Dye Plant Garden
Materials & creativity
Earth, enamel and materials gathered from nature: these workshops invite you to handle different materials and create something individually or collectively.
Enamelling workshop with Terre Adèle
With Adeline Dutel, choose a cup or small bowl, then enamel and decorate your piece before taking your creation home.
Saturday and Sunday · 11 am, 2.30 pm and 4 pm · Duration: 1 hour · €20 · Booking: 06 14 32 92 01
Collective raw-earth sculpture
Alongside Maud Louise-Marie, help create an animal from raw earth using the coil-building technique: roll by roll, the sculpture gradually takes shape.
Sunday at 10.30 am · Ages 4 and up · From 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how long you wish to take part
Giant mandala
Create a collective composition using natural materials gathered throughout the seasons.
Saturday at 10.30 am · Terrasse des Arcades
Ochre-painted masks
A creative workshop exploring ochre, one of the Luberon’s emblematic natural materials and colours.
Saturday at 10.30 am · Terrasse des Arcades
Colours to experience
Colour is not only something to look at: it can also be cooked, touched and used in everyday practices from different cultures.
Colourful cooking workshop
Prepare a seasonal meal using local, organic and naturally colourful ingredients. A culinary experience for both the eyes and the taste buds, with the dishes later served at the colourful banquet.
Saturday, 10 am to 12.30 pm · Free · Children aged 7 and up must be accompanied · Registration: cafevillageois@aumaquis.org
Henna secrets and temporary tattoos
Discover how henna is prepared before choosing a small temporary design.
Saturday at 11 am · Dye Plant Garden · Pay what you wish
Skills & transmission
The festival also offers a hands-on introduction to traditional and contemporary practices through observation, movement and experimentation.
Sericulture workshop
Live silkworms, cocoons, tools and historic objects bring to life a craft that was once widespread in Provence. In particular, discover how cocoons are reeled and silk is spun.
Saturday at 5 pm · Terrasse des Arcades
“Journey with Your Colour” – Danse Initiatique®
Guided by Claire’s voice, from the Tête-Corps-Cœur association, let movement become a way to explore your own rhythm and sensations, wearing headphones and without any set choreography.
Sunday at 5 pm · Ages 12 and up · €15 · Limited places · Booking required
In the Salle des Arcades, Inge Boesken Kanold presents more than 25 works resulting from forty years of research into ancient purple dye and the rediscovery of this pigment, once extracted from murex shells.
The Dye Plant Garden hosts a trail of creations on fabric, paper and wood inspired by the three primary colours.
An installation of graphic works and wayfinding objects is displayed throughout the Dye Plant Garden.
An exhibition of photographs and drawings is displayed in the greenhouse of the Dye Plant Garden. The artists’ workshops in the château courtyard also open their doors during the festival.
A selection of books on natural colours and gardens is also available for sale at the Dye Plant Garden, to browse and take home.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, Maison Camille sets up its guinguette in the château courtyard. Finger-food style snacks to enjoy on site or take away during the concerts, draught beers, wines, ice creams and an outdoor bar make it easy to extend your evenings at the Natural Colours Festival.
The village cafés and restaurants also welcome visitors throughout the weekend for drinks, snacks and meals.
In addition to this article
Practical information on Natural Colours Festival 2026 in Lauris
Opening times and periods
From Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September 2026.
Price(s)
Free of charge.
Informations
