Valais, Switzerland is in the middle of its annual Alphorn Festival, a celebration of the historic wooden horns that once served as an early equivalent of emergency radio. Festival officials expect over 12,000 visitors.
Over 180 players, mostly Swiss, but including a few French and German players and one from Japan, will compete in several categories before the festival ends tomorrow. There will also be other types of competition, including Swiss wrestling, as well as food events and crafts.
The alphorns, whose sounds can be heard as much as 10 km away, use vibration to vary the note played, with a different pattern for different types of news, such as approaching storms or armies, fires and more. They're also used to call herds home.
For more details of the alphorn's history and role in Swiss culture, click HERE
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