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The Story of Vibe ·

Autumn picnic on Carnon beach, 11 October - how it went

Beach days

On 11 October 2026 the Vibe South of France community saw off the beach season on the sand at Carnon: 35-40 people came, the shared table was a potluck, and we stayed from the middle of the day until eight or nine in the evening. After dark the guitars came out, then karaoke off a phone and dancing. Photos are below.

Silhouettes around the shared table on Carnon beach after sunset
The meet-up in brief
When
WhereCarnon beach · Carnon, commune of Mauguio, near Montpellier
How many came35-40
What it costPotluck: the shared table was made up of whatever people brought, and someone even baked pies
What was onSunday 11 October, Carnon beach: a shared table from the middle of the day, kites, fishing from the rocks and a swim for the brave; after dark, songs to guitars in Russian and Ukrainian, karaoke and dancing, on the beach until eight or nine in the evening

Photos from the meet-up

Silhouettes around the shared table on Carnon beach after sunset Two women on the rocks by the sea, one holding a guitar, with the breakwater and sails behind them The shared table on a red polka-dot cloth: quiche, bananas and fruit A red parasol and a group around the tables on the dune Three people with guitars singing on the sand at night Two people playing guitar at night on folding chairs A couple walking across the sand at sunset Writing in the wet sand and a man with a child on his shoulders by the water A slice of quiche held over the red polka-dot table Two women on the rocks by the sea, one tuning a guitar A woman in a cap against the sun by the shared table A woman in a sun hat squinting into the sun A boy with a ball on the wide beach, the houses of Carnon in the distance A man resting on the sand among the group A girl in a white sweatshirt running across the sand A girl eating on the beach in the sunset light Teenagers in a car on the way to the beach

Silhouettes around the shared table on Carnon beach after sunset
Two women on the rocks by the sea, one holding a guitar, with the breakwater and sails behind them
The shared table on a red polka-dot cloth: quiche, bananas and fruit
A red parasol and a group around the tables on the dune
Three people with guitars singing on the sand at night
Two people playing guitar at night on folding chairs
A couple walking across the sand at sunset
Writing in the wet sand and a man with a child on his shoulders by the water
A slice of quiche held over the red polka-dot table
Two women on the rocks by the sea, one tuning a guitar
A woman in a cap against the sun by the shared table
A woman in a sun hat squinting into the sun
A boy with a ball on the wide beach, the houses of Carnon in the distance
A man resting on the sand among the group
A girl in a white sweatshirt running across the sand
A girl eating on the beach in the sunset light
Teenagers in a car on the way to the beach

The day in brief

On Sunday 11 October 2026 the Vibe South of France community closed its beach season on the sand at Carnon, just outside Montpellier. Some 35-40 people came. The first turned up in the middle of the day, we left the beach at eight or nine in the evening, and the last of us got home after midnight. The picnic was first set for 4 October and then moved back a week. Meet-ups like this one are dreamed up and organised in the community chat.

A shared table, with sand on the plates

The table was a potluck: everyone brought something of their own, and someone even baked pies and carried them down to the beach. There was rather more sand on the plates than we’d have liked. That’s a beach for you.

Kites, a fishing rod and an October swim

Everyone found their own way to spend the day. The children flew kites and played hide-and-seek. One of us sat on the rocks with a fishing rod for most of the day. And the bravest went in for a swim - yes, in the middle of October.

The keys the whole crowd hunted for

The joke of the day was a set of car keys. For half an hour the whole crowd searched: we moved tables, shook out bags and clambered over the rocks. Nothing. The next day the keys turned up in the lining of a bag.

So if something goes missing on the beach, check the lining first.

Guitars after dark

Once it got dark, out came the guitars. At first one of us simply started picking out tunes from memory, then a musician friend joined in. We set up a speaker and microphones, and for an hour and a half to two hours the two of them sang songs in Russian and Ukrainian, from the classics to romances. After that came karaoke off a phone, and dancing.

Who stayed to the end

When everyone else had gone, about ten of us packed up the tables and loaded everything into the cars. The evening wasn’t over yet: we carried on nearby, with a game of pool and a rock concert we stumbled on by chance. It was past midnight by the time we got home.

Photos

We’ve gathered the pictures from the picnic: 17 shots are in the gallery on this page.

Our sixth beach meet-up

This was the sixth meet-up in the community’s beach series. It began in summer 2025 at Plage du Couchant in La Grande-Motte with the beach day of 22 June, followed by the meet-up of 6 July and another on 27 July. In January 2026 Carnon hosted the Epiphany sea swim, and on 28 June we opened the beach season on the same beach with a swim and dinner at sunset.

So in 2026 we opened and closed the season on one and the same beach, with a whole summer in between.

What came next

A week before the picnic, on 4 October, the community had opened the skating season at the Végapolis rink in Odysseum. And twelve days after the beach, on 23 October, about 50 people came to Misha Gitarist’s concert at La Chistera in Montpellier. Every announcement goes out in the Vibe South of France community chat on Telegram, and the full events chronicle is here on the site.

About the community

Vibe South of France is the Russian-speaking community of Montpellier and the whole South of France, 700+ people in a Telegram chat. It’s free and runs on volunteers: the events are dreamed up and hosted by the members themselves.

Huge thanks to our organiser, Anastasiia.

Frequently asked questions

How many people came to the picnic?
Around 35-40. The first arrived in the middle of the day and we left the beach at eight or nine in the evening. About ten of us then carried on nearby and only got home after midnight.
How did the shared table work?
It was a potluck: everyone brought something of their own, and someone even baked pies. There was rather more sand on the plates than we’d have liked, but that’s a beach for you.
Could you bring children?
Yes, children came with us: they flew kites and played hide-and-seek.
Did anyone swim in October?
The bravest gave it a go. And one of us spent most of the day on the rocks with a fishing rod.
Are there photos?
Yes, 17 shots from the picnic are in the gallery on this page.

Channel with meet-up announcements

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