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| The Summer Feria of Andalucia. |
Every town and village in Andalucia has its own
feria or fair, and it would be possible, if one had superhuman powers
of endurance, to spend the whole summer following them about the
region. The summer annual feria originated in the middle ages, and
was the principal means of interchange of local products within
the kingdom. The first feria takes place at Seville in April (two
weeks after Semana Santa) and the last is at San Pedro de Alcántara
in mid October.
The 'day fair' takes place in the streets of the town itself. Streets are closed to traffic, and businesses close for the week as well. Tables and chairs are set up and the bars serve food and drink in the street with music playing on every corner. People of all ages sing and dance, and visitors are always welcome.
At night, the fair shifts to the public fairground or "recinto ferial" on the outskirts of the town. There is a traditional amusement park with lots of rides for the children and "casetas" (tents) set up by the various clubs, associations and political parties of the town. Some of these tents provide live entertainment and all are equipped with a full bar.
Many of the “casetas” (some would say too many) are by private invitation only. Outsiders are invariably welcomed. Just ask if you can go in, if not try the next one. And if you find you’re down on your luck, there is always the large “Caseta Municipal” put up by the town council and open to everybody.
On some evenings there will be a top billing singer, for which tickets will be sold on the door at a reasonable price. These are usually very popular and often sell out, so if you really want to get in, you may want to start queuing up early.
The ferias usually start midweek and finish on Sunday
night. In the larger towns they start at midnight on the Sunday
night with fireworks. (Monday after the feria is often a local holiday
designed for recovering from the festivities).
Here are dates for fair-goers of some of the larger
towns. We offer a bottle of wine to the first reader who manages
to visit every one in the same year.
Download a 25 page PDF document (1.1MB) prepared by the Costa del Sol Tourist board listing all the ferias and fiestas by village and date in the province of Malaga.
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