A colourful start to the school year with the Balloon’s Day Parade and the Comic Strip Festival rally

This year, the Comic Strip Festival is once again plunging Brussels into the world of graphic art. The “Balloon’s Day Parade” will fill the streets of the capital with colour; there will even be a new Smufs ballon for the occasion.

The Comic Strip Festival rally offers a range of activities and novelties to delight visitors of all ages. Since its creation in 2010, the Comic Strip Festival has evolved a great deal to become the place to go for all lovers of graphic art. Everyone in attendance, young and old, shares the same passion and goes there every year to get a signed copy or to enjoy the many original activities on offer. Fans of comic strips will also find what they are looking for in the Brussels Park, with them taking part in the numerous organised activities of the Comic Strip Festival.

On Saturday 15 September, the original combination of the “Balloon’s Day Parade”and the Comic Strip Festival Rally will take over the streets of the capital and plunge it into the world of the famous comic strip characters. The balloon parade will invade the capital at the start of the afternoon. It will then be the turn of the vintage cars of the Comic Strip Festival Rally to sweep into the capital, ending their journey on the Place Royale.

Balloon’s Day Parade This year, the “Balloon’s Day Parade” will once again pass through the streets of Brussels for nearly two hours. The inflation of the balloons will startat 10 o’clock in the morning on the Place des Palais. The start and inflation will take place at the Place Royale and rue Montagne de la Cour. In the course of the afternoon, Spirou, Tintin, Le Chat, Boule, Blurk, Gaston and their new friend will embark on their outing through the major thoroughfares of Brussels.

This year, the classic car race is being given a new look. On Saturday 15 September this year, several vintage vehicles that feature in comic strips will be setting off at 13:00 to cover nearly 100 kilometres; making an exceptional stop at the Musée Royal du Cinquantenaire in honour of the exhibition “Alix – the art of Jacques Martin” (greeted by a Roman legion) will arrive at the Place Royale. The finishing line will host an all day car exhibition on the 15 September where more than 50 collection pieces in total will be included. A wonderful opportunity to sink back into the comic strips of the time and rediscover these rare jewels.The owners of the cars or bikes that appeared in a comic strip are called on to fill in the registration form available on the Comic Strip Festival website.At the end of the rally, a jury will award prizes to the crews and cars that are most faithful to the comic strip creators’ drawings.

Good to know:

• More information on the Comic Strip Festival
• The Balloon’ Day Parade is currently looking for volunteers to carry the balloons in the parade between 1 pm and 6 pm. Volunteers can e-mailwhite@beegroupe.befor more information.