Festivals Throughout Spain During Summer
Spanish people simply love fiestas and festivals. There are innumerable celebrations that are happening during the year in the entire country of Spain. In case you have missed Valencia’s major festival the Fallas, you can still visit and enjoy some of the following festivals that will be held in different cities throughout Spain in August.
La Tomatina (Tomato Fight Festival)
Where: Buñol
When: 28th August
Do you like tomatoes? Then you can’t miss La Tomatina! It is the craziest and most fun festival you can experience in Spain. The biggest food fight in the world with 20,000 participants takes place in Buñol, a small Valencian town. The aim is clear – you just smash or throw tomatoes at other people on the street. If you want to participate, you need to buy a ticket in advance because this event is so popular that even people from other countries come to Spain only to take part in La Tomatina. The fight lasts for one hour and there are usually around 150,000 over-ripe tomatoes. Are you ready?
Feria De Málaga (August Fair In Malaga)
Where: Downtown streets during the day and Cortijo de Torres at night in Malaga
When: 15th to 24th August
The Malaga Fair is a week full of fun activities and events that are celebrated both during the day and night every day of the week at the heart of the Costa del Sol. During the Day Fair the streets of Malaga are filled with street markets, traditional music and dances. Later at the Night Fair everybody moves to other places outside of city where you can enjoy fairgrounds, long lanes of food stalls or dance tents. Get to know the second largest city in Andalusia, the most populous and the second largest autonomous community in the country!
Festa Major De Gràcia (Gràcia Festival)
Where: Gràcia, Barcelona
When: 15th to 21st August
The Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona is located just 20 minutes on foot from the city center and it is known for its bohemian atmosphere, vibrant streets and small cafés. Every year for one week the streets in the neighbourhood compete to have the best decorated street. The winner gets a special annual prize. Each street chooses a specific theme so you can walk through the streets and above your head you can see creative decorations featuring for example a zombie street, a jungle street or a street of an underwater world.
La Semana Grande de Bilbao (The Great Week of Bilbao)
Where: Bilbao
When: 17th August – 25th August
A 9 day event begins on Saturday the 17th of August when people gather at the Arriaga Theatre on the banks of the Nervion River in Bilbao. A burst of fireworks (called txupinazo) announces the beginning of the festival followed by the opening speech of Marijaia, the festival’s mascot. From that moment on, you can enjoy traditional Basque music and dancing but at the same time you can also admire a show of traditions such as stone carrying competition or wood chopping. At the end of La Semana Grande, the symbol of festival, Marijaia, is set on fire.
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