Kalender met Barcelona Feestdagen en Festivals

January

5th Dia de Reyes (3 Kings' Parade)

Location: Barcelona city

Every 5th of January, Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar load their camels, presents, coal and their whiskers onto the small boat, the Santa Eulalia, and off they go, to Barcelona. Renowned chefs decorate the floats in the 3 Kings’ Parade with cookery motifs.

Organisers: Ajuntament de Barcelona

18th Cabalgata dels tres tombs (St Anthony’s Day)

There are processions and blessings of animals in various districts around the city. The largest is in the district of Sant Andreu and the second-largest in the Eixample. An interesting assortment of animals - cats, dogs, donkeys and mules - line up to be blessed at the Ronde Sant Pau in Eixample.

February

23rd until 1st March: Carnival in Barcelona

Carnival in Barcelona epitomises some of the more gluttonous aspects of traditional celebration. Lent entails temperance and restraint, and therefore the time before the feast is spent indulging in... Carnival calls us to go out in the streets made up, in disguise, in masquerade... to dance in the Rua (Carnival Parade), participate in the tradition of burying the sardine or simply take a stroll.

Of these activities, one of the most spectacular is the Rua de Carnaval (Carnival Parade), which brings thousands of people to the neighbourhood of Sants.

For Barcelonans this means a gargantuan feast dedicated to anything particularly fatty or gastronomically wicked. The week kicks off with a tortilla competition on Jueves Ladero - Fatty Thursday, judged on taste, filling and presentation. Catalonians are also exceptionally qualified when it comes to spicy meat and especially sausages. Fuet and salchichón will have explosions of picante dancing on your tongue - you'll wish you had been born in Catalonia just for the pleasure of sampling them every day.

The Carnival weekend sees revellers converge on the market places and streets to watch as the local carnival guilds and commercial establishments compete for the much acclaimed pimiento de oro - golden pepper. The winners aren't just judged on their lavish costumes and smiling faces, but on their ability to drive the large crowd into a frenzy of celebration. Saturday afternoon sees the celebrations come to a climax with the Gran Rua de Carnaval, a colossal parade of adorned carriages and carnival groups and a snowfall of streaming confetti.

All good things must come to an end and on Wednesday the celebrants mark the occasion appropriately with a funeral. The king of carnival has, after all, died and taken the carnival with him. A funeral cortege of his widows and entourage, all suitably dressed in black, mourn his passing.

Bars, restaurants and clubs go to great efforts to ensure that a good time can be had in their establishements during carnival. Wherever you intend to hang out, make sure you have a costume, a smile and bags of energy with which to party.

March

20th: Marathon

Barcelona's most enduring running event, the annual marathon starts and finishes at the Avenida María Cristina, below the steep green hillside of Montjuïc.

The event originated in 1977 and has come on in leaps and bounds since. Today thousands of entrants form a fast-running stream right through the city, from the northern suburbs of Badalona to southern L'Hospitalet.

There are 14 water points lining the route and even a massage service and showers, as well as plenty of changing rooms at the finish line.

25th until 2nd April: Antiquaris Barcelona

A fully established exhibition that - now in its 28th edition - is expanding its international profile by hosting the finest antiquarians and collectors in the world with the unprecedented backdrop of the Universal Forum of Culture.

Place: Fira de Barcelona

April

1st until 30th: Fiesta de San Jordí

This celebration in April celebrates Spain's patron Saint George, with the giving of flowers to women. Boys and men share a single red rose with their sisters, mothers and grandmothers and receive books in return. Vendors along the Ramblas sell flowers from corner stalls.

13th until 17th: Barcelona Dance Awards 2006

The main focus will be DANCE – Classical, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, Funky, Folk and all of the various interpretations of the Theatre Dance Laboratories.

23rd: St. George’s Day

Las Ramblas - Barcelona celebrates its very own version of St Valentine's Day, otherwise known as Lovers Day, on St George's Day.

23th until 27th: Catalan Wine and Cava Show

To coincide with the grape harvest, over 400 exhibitors including wine houses, wineries and merchants from Alt Penedes and Catalonia swap tips and tastings on their wines and cavas at the Maremàgnum.

Cava, a traditional method sparkling wine, can be exceedingly dry with an exceptional yeasty flavour - which explains why some rate it as superior to its counterpart, champagne. The cava trade centres around Sab Sadurni de Noya, some 30 kilometres outside Barcelona.

Besides the constant supplies of cava, be sure to savour some of the Alt Penedés rosés and red wines from the Priorat area.

29th until 8th May: Asian Film Festival

Once again Barcelona's Contemporary Cultural Centre, the CCCB, presents the Asian Film Festival, with four main sections: Official Section; Guest Country: tba; Anime Space and the AS (Asian Selection).

May

19th until 21st: Spanish Gran Prix

The Spanish Gran Prix is an excellent racing spectacle and coupled with the city of Barcelona it makes for a trip to remember.

June

16th until 18th: SÓNAR: International festival of advanced music and multimedia

Barcelona is home to SÓNAR, a highlight of the ever-expanding roster of dance music conferences that allows industry professionals to meet, greet and party. For anybody who is interested in electronic music, contemporary urban art and the world of multimedia, this is a must in the social and professional calendar.

27th until 28th July: Barcelona Summer Festival

Popularly known as the "Grec Festival" and symbolised by the long-eared faun, Barcelona's summer festival is the most important cultural event of the season.

July

1st until 7th: Catalonia Gym Festival

6th until 10th: European Balloon Festival

Every year in the Catalonian town of Igualada, 40 hot air balloons from around the world take to the sky during the biggest balloon festival in Spain, and one of the largest in Europe.

August

1st until 31st: Festa major de Gràcia

During August, neighborhoods in the city hold their "main festivals". La Gràcia festival is the most famous of them, and residents decorate their streets with wonderful decorations. Prizes awarded for the best street decorations.

September

10th until 18th: Barcelona International Short Film Festival

Barcelona's international short film festival, Mecal, returns to the CCCB once again, selecting the best from 1000 or so entries.

22th until 24th: Fiesta de La Mercè

During the Fiesta de La Mercè honors the patron saint of Barcelona, the Virgin of Mercy. The city of Barcelona undergoes a fantastic makeover of Catalan popular culture and mythology. Fire-breathing dragons, costumed, street fairs, dancing and traditional Catalonian fanfare.

On September 24 or thereabouts, Barcelona once again celebrates its Patron Saint Festival. Like a last explosion before autumn, La Mercè is a Festival of festivals, which concentrates in a few days hundreds of activities such as the following:

» Barcelona Musical Action: to discover new sound proposals

» Barcelona Street Arts: with artists who perform within reach of the audience

» The Festival of Tradition: human towers, capgrossos (dwarves with big heads), giants and an entire menagerie of festive animals, accompanied by guests from Mediterranean countries.

» The Festival in the Sky: acrobatic gathering including jets, balloons and gliders.

» The Festival of Fire: all types of sparks, from the pyrotechnical music show to the correfoc (literally a fire-run).

The etcetera is long, and tends to include over 500 activities which gives something to appeal to everyone. La Mercè is the festival of a thousand faces.

Of particular interest is the "correfoc" (fire-breathing dragons from all over Catalonia), and the pyrotechnical music show (fireworks and classical music next to the Montjuïc fountains).

October

27th until 5th December: Barcelona International Jazz Festival

Jazz and blues in the city.

Venues in Palau de la Música, Sala Apolo, L’Auditori and Luz de Gas.

November

Barcelona International Jazz Festival

Different large venues in the city with many international jazz musicians

December

Christmas Fairs

Many fairs and Christmas markets appear around the city like the ones around the cathedral and the Sagrada Família.