Festivals and events - The Rough Guide to Barcelona - page 345

SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED …
If you look beyond the big-name acts and the major annual celebrations, there's a whole
world of off-the-radar festive fun in Barcelona, with some events just putting a toe in
the water and others growing more elaborate with each year. February's Minifestival (
minifestival.net ) , for example, provides a neat suburban counterpoint to the bigger city
music fests, highlighting international indie acts that you've definitely never heard of. In
May/June, Loop ( loop-barcelona.com ) , the international fair and festival for video art,
attracts hundreds of artists from dozens of countries. September sees the ever-improv-
ing Festival Àsia ( casaasia.es ) , with dance, theatre, music, DJs, children's activities,
performance art and workshops showcasing the culture of Asia and the Pacific Region.
By October/November, digi-heads and Second Lifers are ready for Artfutura ( artfu-
tura.org ), the digital culture and creativity festival, while alternative Christmas shopping is
best done at Drap-Art ( drapart.net ) , the Festival of Creative Recycling, which puts on
its annual bash and market at the CCCB.
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MARCH/APRIL
FestesdeSantMedirdeGràcia FirstweekinMarch santmedir.org . Ahorse-and-carriage
parade around Gràcia, which then heads to the Sant Medir hermitage in the Collserola hills.
Later, the procession returns to Gràcia, where thousands of sweets are thrown to children
along the route, and there's plenty of traditional dancing and feasting.
Setmana Santa Easter, Holy Week. Religious celebrations and services at churches
throughout the city. Special services are on Thurs and Fri in Holy Week at 7-8pm, Sat at
10pm;there'saprocessionfromthechurchofSantAgustíonc/del'Hospital(ElRaval)toLa
Seu, starting at around 4pm onGoodFriday; and Palm Sunday sees the blessing ofthe palms
at La Seu. Public holidays on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Dia de Sant Jordi St George's Day, April 23. St George's Day, dedicated to Catalunya's
dragon-slaying patron saint, is a day of national identity - the Catalan flag appears every-
where and red roses (the colour of the dragon's blood) are the bloom of choice, with the two
coming together at the Palau de la Generalitat, the home of the Catalan government. The
saint's day has been entwined over the years with two other occasions, so that it's also a kind
oflocal Valentine'sDay(traditionally,mengivetheir sweethearts arose…)andInternational
Book Day (…and receive a book in return). You'll be hard pushed to escape stumping up for
either as you run the gauntlet of stalls down the Ramblas.
FeriadeAbrildeCatalunya LastweekinApril fecac.com . Theregion'sbiggestAndalu-
cian festival, with ten days of food, drink and flamenco. All the action goes down at the big
marquees erected at the Parc del Fòrum plaza (Diagonal Mar).