Events Spain: September 2010
Tourist Day Torremolinos
Torremolinos celebrates Tourist Day (Dia del Turista) every September with
street parades, music, dancing and traditional costumes. Typically Spanish
cuisine is dished out for free. Enjoy the giant paella served on the beach
along with a chilled glass of Sangria. It doesn't get better than this!
Date: 02.09.2010
Location: Torremolinos
Fescinal Madrid
You might be a bit too hot and bothered to be able to thoroughly enjoy
a film in the comforts of your own home. So, why not spend a warm
summer evening in Madrid's Parque de la Bombilla, for a movie under the
stars. The open-air cinema programme offers great films you might have missed
before.
Date: 24.06.2010 - 04.09.2010
Location: Parque de la Bombilla, Madrid
Pedro Romero Fair
The beautiful town of Ronda springs to life every summer with the Pedro Romero
Fair. With a colourful display of Goyesca costumes, an exhibition of carriages
and bullfights at Ronda's Plaza de Toros. Prizes are awarded for the best decorated
carriages. For those who do not enjoy the bullfights and think it's a disgusting sport,
support the other celebrations in the Recinto Ferial area.
Date: 30.08.2010 - 06.09.2010
Location: Plaza de Toros, Ronda
Fiestas del Diablo
In honour of the Virgin, Nuesta Señora de Candelaria, a local dresses up in a
flame-spitting, firework-spraying Devil costume and jumps and dances around
the Plaza de la Candelaria in Tijarafe, scaring te crowds onlookers.
The costumes alone are reason to visit this scary event.
Date: 07.09.2010 -08.09.2010
Location: Plaza de la Candelaria, Tijarafe
Cascamorras
In honour of the Virgin of Piety, the two Granda communities of Guadix city and
the town of Baza, act out the ritual of capturing and recapturing their shared
statue of the Virgin, which fails miserably.
According to the legend, around 1490 a labourer from Guadix was demolishing
the Merced Convent in Baza, when he found the statue of the Virgin in the rubble, which
had been adopted by the locals of Baza. Yet the statue was found by the Guadix men, so they
were not impressed by the Bastetanos keeping it.And so they made a deal: if an Accitano
could manage to enter Baza and get as far as the Merced without staining his clothes, he
would recover the Virgin of Guadix.
Now, some five hundred years later, every year on September the 6th, a villager from Guadix
dressed as the buffoon character "Cascamorras", makes the 3km journey to Baza to take back
the statue. Dirty faced, the Bastetanos wait with eggs and tinted water, aiming to stain
the Cascamorras, so he fails his task. Cascamorras returns to Guadix (without the statue) after
days of partying, at sunrise on the 9th of September and is egged by the locals.
Date: 06.09.2010 - 09.09.2010
Location: Guadix
Madrid International Fashion Week
The Fashion Week in Madrid hosted by the IFEMA centre, is one of the most important female fashion exhibitions in the country. Models take to the catwalk to showcase collections by up and coming and well known designers, with a variety of clothes from rural and every day, to party clothes and sportswear.
The competitive prices and quality of Spanish products are internationally recognised increasing the numbers of foreign exhibitors.
Date: 02.09.2010 - 04.09.2010
Location: IFEMA, Madrid
Semana de Toros
The Semana de Toros bull run lasts a week long and attracts over 200, 000 people to Segorbe. Down the Calle Colon, Horsemen accompany a herd of bulls to the main square.
Although it is an incredible event to watch, the injuries of man and bull can be rather unpleasant and the whole thing quite scary to watch, so if you are not one for blood and dangerous hobbies you may want to skip this event.
Date: 06.09.2010 - 12.09.2010
Location: Segorbe
Events Spain August
La Tomatina
Known as the “World’s Biggest Food Fight”, thousands of people visit the La Tomatina food fight festival every year in Buñol, Valencia, where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown around.
The festivities start around 10 am, when trucks loaded with tomatoes drive in to Plaza del Pueblo. Although the actual festival is not meant to begin until someone has climbed to the top of a two-story high, greasy wooden pole to retrieve a piece of ham at the top, no one really waits around for that and often the gory looking fight begins before anyone makes it to the greasy, slimey top. Water Cannons signal the beginning of the fight and all chaos breaks loose, leaving every man to himself.
The Tomatoes must be squished before throwing them and it is advised for participants to wear goggles and gloves. Other objects that might provoke a serious fight between participants such as glass bottles and the likes are prohibited. It is forbidden to tear at other people¡s clothing, but amidst the chaos of it all, this rule is often ignored and the clothes torn from people.
The water cannons are fired once more after an hour exactly to signal the end of the fight and no more tomatoes can be thrown. The streets are cleaned with fire trucks to spray down the streets. Sympathetic residents hose down people passing by and water to clean yourself up can also be found at the near by Bunol River.
The Tomato fight tradition has been held since 1944 or 1945 in honor of the town’s patrons saints, Mare de Deu dels Desemparats and Luis Bertran.
It remains unclear how this tradition originated; some believe it was a juvenile class war, others say it stemmed from a practical joke on a bad musician. Either way it was so enjoyable they repeated it every year. The festival was banned during the Spanish State period by Franco, due to the fact that it bare no religious significance, but returned in the 70’s after his demise.
Date: August 25th
Location: Buñol, Valencia
Feria Malaga
An exuberant week of non-stop partying, accompanied by plenty of flamenco and fino.
Lasting for ten full days, it commemorates the re-conquest of the city by Isabella and Ferdinand in 1487.
The festivities set off with a big bang of fireworks in the park. The following day people take to the streets dressed in flamenco dresses, for a weeks worth of dancing, drinking and have a good time. The “Sevillanas” (the traditional dance of Andalucia) is made up of four distinct dances with the infamous foot-stomping and finger-clicking.
The Feria in Malaga is is split into two events, the Feria del Dia which takes place in the town’s centre during the day and at night when every one makes their way to the fairground for all the attractions and casetas, starting 9pm.
The Andalusian feria is celebrated in most town and villages between Spring and Autumn. It is an annual celebration bringing friends and family together for an exuberant street party.
Date: 13.08 – 22.08.2010
Location: Malaga
La Noche Del Vino
On the feast of St Matthew (21st September) the vintage beings in most spanish wine-growing districts. The feast of the Nativity of Our Lady marks the official start of the vintage in Jerez on the 8th of September.
Originating in 1948, the vintage festival is held on a weekend closest possible to September 8th.
The program may vary on a yearly basis but the festivities usually start with a Procession on the Friday in which the Queen of the Vintage is surrounded by her handmaidens, wearing white dresses and blue silk scarves which are said to represent the white chalky soil and the blue skies which give life to the vines.
The Procession ends in the Plaza de Arenal where the people of the town pay their respects to the Queen and the “bodegas” offer wine. This fiesta is always dedicated to the honor of an individual or a country where sherry is popular.
Bullfights, Flamenco and overall partying honor the Lady of Jerez for the following days. The Blessing of the Grapes takes place on the Sunday after solemn mass in the Collegiate Church.
Date: August 15th
Location: Cómpeta
Events International
Notting Hill Carnival
Since 1966 the Notting Hill Carnival is held each year and is one of the largest celebrations of its kind in Europe.
Watch the streets come to life with colorful costumes, sounds and smells with Caribbean food stalls and 40 Sound Systems. This Carnival attracts over a million people each year!
It was the West Indian community of the Notting Hill area that originally started this Caribbean festival, attracting visitors from all over the world.
Hundreds of stalls, steel drum bands, sound systems and massive floats decorated with colorful imagination guarantees a fantastic day out for the entire family.
The Saturday starts out with a steel band competition and the Sunday is reserved for Kids who are rewarded with Costume prizes. The main parade takes place on the Bank Holiday Monday on the Great Western Road, winding down Chepstow Road, Westbourne Grove and finally ends at Ladbroke Grove.
Date. August 29th & 30th
Location: Notting Hill
Open Air Theatre Vondelpark
The Vondelpark in Amsterdam is known for its unique setting and scenery and so it comes to no surprise that the Open- Air Theatre is held at this great location.
People from all ages, background and parts of town come together here to relax and have a good time.
The Open-Air Theatre presents a wide range of program with around 125 free performances. Anything from Dance, children’s performances, cabaret, classical music and various music genres from jazz, urban dutch to world music can be enjoyed at the Vondelpark.
The main program is the “In de Voorhoede” which is mainly reserved for new talents to get their minutes of spotlight, whilst classical musicians and cabaret performers get to take to the stage before the main program.
Date: July- August
Location: Vondelpark, Amsterdam
Summer Tyne
SummerTyne Americana Festival has become one of the most popular festivals, presenting some of the most favoured names in alt country, southern gospel, soul, blues and rock live from The Sage Gateshead on the breathtaking south bank of the River Tyne.
Four days of mesmerizing music with guests such as Rosanne Cash, Jakob Dylan and Solomon Burke.
Date: 22nd -25th July
Location: The Sage Gateshead, Newcastle