The 2025 BBQ camping weekend — where it all began

The trip the community grew out of

The chat itself was originally called “Montpellier–Béziers BBQ trip”: it was created specifically for this weekend at a cabin campsite between the two towns. On 3 June 2025, two days after the trip, the group was renamed “Vibe Montpellier”. “Well yes, it all started with it,” people wrote later about that barbecue.

Finding the venue took real work: the organiser called and messaged at least 15 campsites, and almost none allow open-fire grilling — only a plancha, and usually for an extra fee of about €5. This campsite was chosen precisely because a real mangal is allowed. The pool with slides, the sauna with a jacuzzi and a beach nearby came as a bonus.

Logistics

The format was overnight: the departure schedule listed 11 cabins across the “Eucalyptus” and “Orange” sectors and the B line, plus day guests. Cabin E24 became the trip’s headquarters. The meeting time was 11:00. At the entrance there was a barrier with number-plate registration; because of a technical glitch at reception some plates were lost, so the standing instruction was: “if the barrier won’t let you through, message us — we’ll come and meet you within 15 minutes.” Only overnight guests’ cars were registered; everyone else got the barrier code.

The organiser assigned people to cabins and helped them find their own on the campsite map: “That’s the Eucalyptus area, green on the map — go straight on from reception and follow the signs.” Everyone was given pool wristbands — anyone who missed out was told to “call or drop by E24”.

The food was prepared by a team of volunteers, overnight: “Salads are ready) Except the Caesar, we still have no lettuce” — they were chopping salads half the night. The stockpile turned out so large that in the morning people were hunting for spare fridges: “a lot of food might not survive till tomorrow))”.

How it went

The celebration actually started on the evening of 30 May. On the 31st, at midday, came the key message: “Guys, it’s started)) Come to the table.” The meat was grilled in several rounds — “the meat’s back on)” — and the tables held “an abundance of vegetables and greens”. In the evening both a guitar and karaoke turned up.

Day two was pure holiday: the pool with slides, the beach and jet skis, sauna and jacuzzi from 11:00 to 15:00. The shared breakfast happened on the terrace of cabin E20, self-service style: “come to E20 for breakfast, just bring your own dishes))”. Not everything went to plan — and that’s an honest part of the story: the planned shurpa never happened (“the meat went into the shashlik, and so did the charcoal”), a leg of lamb mysteriously vanished by morning, the kids’ games only partly took place, and handing back the cabins brought a conflict over cleaning — some were left untidy and the campsite’s representative left the group. Cabins B8, E4 and E20, on the other hand, were singled out as exemplary.

Departure ran to a strict schedule — 11 cabins from 14:00 to 17:30 in 15–30 minute steps, with wristbands to be left in the cabin. “Thanks to everyone who came to the trip — you’re the ones who made it)),” the organiser said as she left.

Why this weekend matters

Straight afterwards the group drew its lessons — disposable tableware, booking a cleaning service, centralised reservations — and immediately planned the next outing: a beach day on 22 June. That set the rhythm that still holds: one event gives birth to the next — a year later this format grew into the 40-person “Shashlyndos”. “The first pancake is often a lumpy one, but now the growth points are clear and our next meet-up will be cooler and more interesting))),” one participant concluded. And so it was — here is how it all works today.