May and June in Sant Feliu de Guixols – the season with everything!
Ah May and June! The weather tends to be beautifully warm and sunny but not too hot and Sant Feliu buzzes gently with life. Perfect! If you like active sports, this is a most beautiful time of year to visit the Costa Brava.
May is usually the time when people recover from Easter and other festivities. So it is quieter and a really good time to explore the considerable art and history on offer in Catalunya.
But in Sant Feliu de Guixols there is generally one of the tapas festivals (the Spring festival) on offer, with local restaurants vying for prizes (for creativity and deliciousness) and with restaurant customers voting for their favourites. Yummy! This tends to start in late April and end towards the last week in May.
In the first week of May we have the flower festival – usually local shops and schools will create works of art forming carpets of flowers in the streets and some buildings are also decorated. This is great in Sant Feliu, with its narrow streets.
There is also a major flower festival in Girona.
The Triumvirat Mediterrani at L’Escala – The dates change from year to year
Main activities include:
- Craft Market, Natural products etc
- Historics shows
- Exhibition of old trades.
- III Photo competition.
- Opus musivum. Mosaics
- Conference
- Guided tour to the Ruins MAC – Empúries.
- Pony ride, boating, and much more.
The Festival of the Sea also happens in May, but the dates are a moveable feast – a whole host of activities in and around Sant Feliu. These include processions (with “sea horses”!, artisan markets, workshops for kids (make an origami sailing ship or a marine monster!), the traditional Catalan Castellers (human castles). Finally, of course, there are lots of aquatic events such as kayaking.
The “blue fish” (Peix Blau) festival also takes place around May time…mid May to mid June usually… The restaurants in Sant Feliu compete to produce the most delicious and innovative dishes using this local (extremely healthy) fish. Watch out for the advertisements in the restaurant windows.
Towards the end of May we have a boating festival with many boat-oriented activities and exhibits. The jet-ski championship of Catalunya also takes place as well as concerts, gastronomy and the like!
The big festival in June is St John’s Eve on the evening of 23 June, Midsummer’s Eve. Bonfires are lit in the squares and streets of the towns and villages and fireworks, music and dancing can go on all night. It is also known as the night of fire or the night of witches…! You may well find yourself invited to street parties or to a bonfire to enjoy a drink and a slice of coca (sweet bread).
But the biggest happening of all is in Girona where they celebrate the arrival of the famous Flama del Canigó (Canigó Flame). This is really symbolic for Catalans. Saint John’s Eve bonfires across Catalonia are lit by torches kindled in the large fire lit at the summit of the Canigó mountain (at an altitude of 2,784 metres) and carried down the mountain in relay. The torch bearers take the flame to every province in Catalonia (Girona being one) as a symbol of the survival and vitality of Catalan culture.
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