📅 From 3 to 5 July 2026
📍 Douai — Town Centre

The Gayant Festival takes over Douai from 3 to 5 July: processions of the giants, concerts, parades and activities throughout the town centre.

Every first weekend of July, Douai comes alive to the rhythm of the Gayant Festival. The city’s famous giants emerge from their annual rest to parade through the streets amid an enthusiastic crowd.

Monsieur and Madame Gayant, accompanied by their children, walk the streets of Douai to the sound of brass bands and applause. The procession is a breathtaking spectacle, listed by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Throughout the weekend, the town centre comes alive with concerts, food stalls and activities for all ages. The historic squares host open-air stages, and the streets fill with curious visitors and partygoers.

The event is free and accessible to all. Pedestrianised streets make it easy to get around with the family. On Sunday, the grand outing of the Gayants is the highlight not to be missed.

Source: [OpenAgenda Douaisis](https://openagenda.com/douaisis-agenda)

📅 Until August 31, 2026
📍 Oignies (9-9bis)

Discover the exhibition dedicated to Louis de Clercq, emblematic figure of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining heritage. Photographs, archival documents and historical accounts.

More information on 9-9bis.com

📅 Thursdays in July 2026
📍 Oignies (9-9bis)

Outdoor musical entertainment with Village Pipo. Concerts, festive atmosphere and artistic discoveries in the heart of the Oignies mining site.

More information on 9-9bis.com

📅 June-July 2026
📍 Saint-Omer (Glacis)

Located in the heart of the Glacis of Saint-Omer, the festival benefits from an exceptional natural setting. Great medieval and fantasy festival with entertainment, costumes and immersive atmosphere.

More information on pas-de-calais-tourisme.com

May 2-3 2026 at Artois Expo, Saint-Laurent-Blangy. Two days of manga, anime and cosplay culture. Cosplay contest, artists alley, video game zone, screenings and live performances. Open Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm.

European Night of Museums at the Centre Historique Minier de Lewarde!

📅 Saturday May 23, 2026, from 7pm to midnight
📍 Centre Historique Minier — Fosse Delloye, Route de Douai, 59287 Lewarde

For the 22nd edition of the European Night of Museums, the Centre Historique Minier opens its doors in the evening for a fun-filled celebration — free entry. Programme at the Fosse Delloye: 💃 Grand rigodon folk dance | 🎪 Acrobats and street performers | 🏭 Guided night tours of the mine

Free admission. An unforgettable evening in one of France’s most authentic mining heritage sites.

At the Louvre-Lens: a journey to the Orient with ‘Beyond the Thousand and One Nights’!

📅 March 25 to July 20, 2026 — ongoing exhibition
📍 Louvre-Lens — 99 Rue Paul Bert, 62300 Lens

The Louvre-Lens presents ‘Beyond the Thousand and One Nights. Stories of Orientalisms’: nearly 300 masterpieces for a fascinating journey through time and cultures. From Paris to Isfahan, from the Alhambra to Cairo, discover how Western artists were inspired by the Orient.

Free admission for under 26s. A unique cultural event in the heart of the mining basin.

The Louvre-Lens invites you to the doors of the Arabian Nights until July 20
📅 From March 25 to July 20, 2026 (current exhibition)

📍 Louvre-Lens, 99 rue Paul Bert, Lens (62300)

The Louvre-Lens is hosting an exceptional exhibition until July 20, 2026: “Beyond the Thousand and One Nights. Histories of Orientalisms.” Nearly 300 major works await you in this fascinating dive between East and West.

For the first time, masterpieces from the Louvre’s Department of Islamic Arts are leaving Paris to come to Lens. The exhibition traces, from the Middle Ages to today, how forms, imaginations and knowledge circulated and were transformed between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

A chronological and critical approach, enriched with French and Belgian collections, which invites us to question cultural representations and millennia-old exchanges. Stories, shows and workshops for young and old complete the program throughout the exhibition.

Find the entire program and reserve your tickets directly on the official Louvre-Lens website. The museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A great opportunity to combine an extraordinary cultural visit with a stroll in the city of Lens and its mining history. Share this outing with your loved ones!

📅 Until May 31, 2026
📍 Museum of Fine Arts of Cambrai, 15 rue de l’Épée, 59400 Cambrai

Are you looking for an original family outing before the end of May? The Cambrai Museum of Fine Arts is hosting a unanimously acclaimed exhibition: “The mysteries of the universe in LEGO® bricks”.

Spectacular models recreate planets, galaxies, black holes and cosmic phenomena entirely constructed from small colored bricks. Space, often complex to understand, here becomes accessible and fascinating for everyone — from the youngest to adults.

The exhibition combines the fun and creative aspect of LEGO with an educational approach to astronomy. A successful marriage between art, science and imagination, in the beautiful rooms of the Cambrésis museum.

Cambrai is easily accessible from Valenciennes, Douai and the entire mining area. A great opportunity to combine a visit to the exhibition with a stroll in this city of art and history.

Information and timetables on agendaculturel.fr

Hurry: the exhibition closes on May 31. To share with all LEGO and science lovers!

On June 6, 2026, the Lewarde Historical Mining Center hosts an exceptional theatrical performance: “The miners’ strike”. A show performed on the very site of an old mining pit — a strong moment, full of emotion and memory.

The play plunges the audience back into the tense atmosphere of social conflicts in the northern coal basin. The struggle of miners for their rights, their working conditions, their dignity: so many universal themes that still resonate today, in the villages and families of the mining area.

Performing theater in a real pit, with authentic buildings in the background, is something unique. We are not in the theater — we are in history. This immersion makes the performance even more powerful and moving.

The Lewarde Historical Mining Center is the largest mining museum in France, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and hosts numerous cultural events each year to bring this exceptional heritage to life.

Practical information:

Saturday June 6, 2026 — Fosse Delloye, Lewarde (59287)

Information and reservations: 03 27 95 82 82 — chm-lewarde.com

An event not to be missed. Share it with those around you — this story is ours!