Summer Fairs

Summer Fairs

By Josephine Quintero and Chris Chaplow

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 clear weeks after Semana Santa) and the last is at San Pedro de Alcántara in mid October.

The 'day fair'  - Feria del día

The 'day fair' traditionally 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. It is now becoming common in towns of Costa del Sol and others for the day fair to be celebrated at the 'Recinto Ferial' (Feria Ground).

The Evening Fair 

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.

DRESS

It is becoming less common for local ladies to wear their traditional feria dress or men the 'traje corto' to go to the feria. Reasons cited are the heat and the cost. In some towns like Malaga and Estepona only the minority of people dress traditionally in others such as Seville or Jerez the majority of people still dress traditionally. 

The dates of the summer fairs in Andalucia

The ferias usually start midweek and finish on a Sunday night. In the larger cities they start at midnight on the Saturday or Sunday night and run for a week. The official opening of the feria is usually marked with fireworks. Monday after the feria is often a local holiday designed for recovering from the festivities.

Here are traditional dates for the feria in many towns and villages, the date will vary slightly each year to suit the day of the week as explained above. The town hall organises the Feria usually the 'departmento de cultura' (culture department) or Delegacion de Festejos (Festivals department). The feria dates (and budget) are approved by a full council meeting about five months (in the case of capital cities) and two months (in the case of villages) ahead of the event.  We appreciate that this is a problem for foreign tourists who wish to book work holidays and purchase flights. The town hall primarily views the feria as a local event, to which foreign tourists are most welcome, but will make very few concessions; perhaps that's why the feria retains its un-spoilt charm.

The Town Hall website is usually www.<town-name>.es The traditional dates often appear in the 'Turismo' section and the exact dates may appear in the 'Agenda' or 'Noticias' (News) section. Look out for the feria poster on the website and on social media. 

 

Link to listing with dates on the web of the ferias of 2024. Asociacion de Feriantes de Andalucia (Trade Association of Fairgrounds).

Download a PDF for 2024 prepared by the  Asociación de Empresarios Feriantes de Málaga y Provincia. 

List of Feria in Cadiz province in 2024 from Dario de Cadiz newspaper website

Music and Dance, Rock and Pop Festivals  -  Comprehensive list of modern music and dance festivals in Andalucia

 

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