From Carpentras to Sisteron, these features preserve the creations and atmosphere of earlier santon fairs. Confirmed 2026 events are listed separately.
Carpentras: santon makers in 2010
Planning Christmas 2026
- Carpentras: 12–18 November 2026, 09:30–13:00 and 14:00–18:00. Tourist office, 97 Place du 25-Août-1944. Free admission.
- Châteaurenard: 4–6 December 2026, Étoile venue. Friday 14:00–19:00, Saturday 10:00–19:00, Sunday 10:00–18:00, according to Santons Fontanille.
- Orange: Passion Santons, 12–13 December 2026, exhibition centre, Avenue Charles-Dardun. Opens at 10:00; free admission. The Caderousse photographs below date from 2010.
Checked on 4 November 2026. Photographs show earlier editions.
This feature records the 24th Carpentras santon makers’ exhibition in 2010. Regional artisans’ creations were then gathered in the Chapelle du Collège. The photographs below show that earlier display.
Twenty-nine santon makers displayed their creations along the chapel’s bays. The lighting highlighted the figures while revealing the building’s proportions. This seventeenth-century Jesuit chapel provided a fine setting for the santons.
Classical figures stood alongside more unusual creations, including ceramics and naïve-style santons. Visitors chose their figures and paid at a central checkout. The makers’ contact details offered an opportunity to discover more of their work.
Modelling workshops gave adults and children a friendly introduction to the art of santon making.
Feature location and information
Venue photographed in 2010: Chapelle du Collège.
Rue du Collège, Carpentras. The 2026 market takes place at the tourist office, at a different address.
Information: Ventoux Provence tourist office.
Feature location and information
Chapel GPS coordinates: N 44.05419 – E 5.046113.
Châteaurenard: the 17th fair
The Châteaurenard santon fair brings together figure makers and creators of scenery: nativity settings, bridges, mills and fountains. Our feature records its 17th edition in the Étoile venue.
The oval room and its soft lighting highlighted the stands and their creations. The exhibition occupied two levels and brought together around thirty artisans. Visitors gathered around tables covered with figures.
Clay santons or dressed figures: the eye travels along the rows until one catches the heart. Visitors come to choose a santon, and sometimes it feels as though the santon chooses them.
Feature location and information
Information about the current fair: City of Châteaurenard.
Getting to Châteaurenard, between Avignon and the Alpilles.
Châteaurenard town-centre GPS coordinates: N 43°52′58″ – E 4°51′18″.
Sisteron: Christmas exhibition in 2006
At Christmas 2006, Sisteron held its 18th santon exhibition. This feature preserves the nativity scenes and figures discovered that year.
In the municipal library’s exhibition room in the town centre, collectors, enthusiasts and professional makers displayed their nativity scenes.
Traditional Provençal scenes stood alongside more individual creations. Miniature figures and landscapes evoked Provence, while other works explored unexpected forms and materials.
Among that edition’s striking pieces were large papier-mâché nativity figures from the Philippines.
Some santon makers also sold their creations, allowing visitors to add to their own nativity scenes.
The visit offered a warm stop on a journey through Christmas traditions in Haute-Provence.
Feature location and information
For current events, consult Sisteron tourist office. This page does not confirm dates for a 2026 santon exhibition.
Sisteron town-centre GPS coordinates: N 44°11′50″ – E 5°56′38″.
Caderousse: the 2010 exhibition
The following photographs were taken at the Caderousse exhibition in 2010. They show an earlier event; practical information about the current Orange fair appears near the top of this page.
For this second edition, nearly sixty exhibitors, including forty-nine santon makers, occupied Caderousse’s sports hall. Coming notably from Gard, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône, they presented a broad range of creations. Aubagne santon maker and Meilleur Ouvrier de France Daniel Scaturro was the guest of honour.
Crêpes, mulled wine and Provençal entertainment accompanied the visit. Les Vieux Crampons de Caderousse association organised this particularly friendly gathering.
The exhibition was also an opportunity to explore Caderousse, a Rhône Valley village surrounded by an imposing flood-protection embankment.
Feature location and information
Current fair in Orange: Passion Santons, tourist-office information.