Festa Major de Gràcia 2011 – Barcelona’s best August event

Events and Music, Fiestas on July 10, 2011 5:09 pm

La Festa Major de Gràcia will soon be upon us. This annual summer festival is a week of impressive celebrations, with concerts, shows, parades, fireworks and above all the amazing street decorations. It’s Gràcia’s carnival, but thousands of people attend from outside this renowned Barcelona barrio – tourists, foreigners and people from other Spanish cities all come to enjoy it.

The Fiesta

The festivities begin on the balcony of Gràcia Town Hall at the inaugural ceremony on the 15th of August. The fiesta lasts all week long, with exhibitions, children’s activities, workshops, sports activities, street markets, parades, performances from various artists, dancers and actors and much more.

The district’s squares such as Plaça del Sol and Plaça Rius i Taulet are bustling, where you can attend jazz, rock and classical music concerts. For all the foodies out there, there will be an area dedicated to providing various Spanish delicacies such as paella, and there are of courses countless places to have a drink!

Every year thousands of people flood the narrow backstreets of the neighbourhood dancing, drinking and enjoying themselves. Though concerts normally finish at 2am, the party carries on well into the night, all making for one of Barcelona’s most colourful and lively fiestas!

Deck the streets…

What makes this festival stand out is the district’s colourful decorated streets. For many months the residents of the Gràcia district work passionately to create a setting that reflects the spirit of the festival – to promote good living relations within the neighborhood. These are not simple decorations but real works of art hung from one side of the building to the other,  giving the area a unique, dream-like atmosphere.

Every year a different theme is chosen to inspire the fiesta. There is also always a well-kept secret which is not released before the festival, so let’s see what awaits us this year!

Tips

If you’re thinking of visiting the festival by metro (especially at night), we recommend getting off at Lesseps, Diagonal or Joanic and walking to the heart of the neighbourhood. The majority of people usually get off at Fontana, where it can get pretty hectic.

Natural light and fewer people make it better to take photos of all the decorated streets in the daytime.

There are many activities to do all day long so it is best to consult the programme in advance to choose what to do and at what time.

Check out this video and see festivities from previous years…

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Are you going to the Festa Major de Gràcia this year? Maybe you’ve gone in previous years? Drop us a line below and tell us all about it!

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