Festivals, September and October 2015

[Deb and John]

I just came across an article on a festival, the feast of San Froilan or Las Cantaderas, which looks to take place in Leon from October 5-12, 2015. We should be close enough to experience this, but do we want to? Does anyone know more about this and/or other festivals we might want to experience/avoid in September/October?

 

[Anniesantiago]

I ran across a very fun wine festival in Azofra on September 10 in 2006. Everybody had their tables out in the street. You buy a hankerchief and once you've paid (it was €8) we ate and drank for free the rest of the night. Bread, paella, lamb stew, ice cream, pastries, wine, music.

I blogged it here:
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/grape-harvest-festival-in-azofra-spain.html

 

[annakappa]

We have arrived in Logroño during the fiesta of San Mateo one year , which I think was at the very end of September. Also a very enjoyable fiesta in Viana ( sometime late September). I would have to check back in my journals to see exact dates. Both fiestas go on for days!

 

[peregrina2000]

My son walked the Frances during the month of September about 10 years ago and though he doesn't drink, he really enjoyed all the grape harvest festivals he happened upon. You are going to come across a lot of them, I'll bet.

I don't know if grape harvest festivals have the same type of programs as the annual saints' days fiestas, but if they do, you should be prepared for very late night music. I arrived in Silleda on the Sanabres a few weeks ago and saw all the bands setting up for the last night of their fiestas. After corroborating with some of the locals that this meant there would be music all night in the center of town, I decided to walk another 6.5 km to Bandeira. I am glad I did, because some pilgrims I met the next day in Ponte Ulla told me that the music did not stop till 6 am. They had not gotten a moment of sleep. Sounds like I made the right decision, even if it meant I didn't get to enjoy the festivities.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I think the first clue you're heading into a festival area is the firecrackers.
They sound like gunshots and yeah, unless you don't need sleep, it is probably better to find a bed in another village.

 

[mspath]

Throughout Spain October 12 is a national holiday celebrating the discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

 

[annakappa]

In Viana, we stayed in the donativo Albergue of the church, right on the main plaza. When we got up the next morning, the band was still playing! Fortunately, for me, I always use ear plugs and didn't hear a thing, even although we had the window open!

 

[GettingThere]

I think the first clue you're heading into a festival area is the firecrackers.
They sound like gunshots and yeah, unless you don't need sleep, it is probably better to find a bed in another village.

Yes! Those things are incredible, I remember the first time we heard them was approaching Najera the day before the May 1st fiesta this year - we worked out they weren't guns but couldn't understand why we seemed to be hearing fireworks during the daytime! They don't seem to worry about being able to see them, the noise seems to be the thing. The loudest ones we heard were in Pedrouzo, when local officials seemed to be setting them off from right by where we were staying, using some kind of hand-held rocket-launcher device! We could hear them for miles before we got to the town. That was on Corpus Christi and they went on all day but luckily seemed to stop or move elsewhere at night!

 

[Castilian]

Info about San Froilán festival in León:

www.aytoleon.es/es/ayuntamiento/areasmunicipales/fiestas/Paginas/sanfroilan.aspx

2014's program of San Froilán festival in León (so you can get a better idea about the festival):

http://leonocio.es/event/fiesta-de-san-froilan-leon

We have arrived in Logroño during the fiesta of San Mateo one year , which I think was at the very end of September.

San Mateo day is September 21st and the festival lasts a week (the week of September 21st).

Throughout Spain October 12 is a national holiday celebrating the discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

It's a public holiday but it doesn't mean it's a festival all around the country. Many places doesn't make any special events on that day (i.e.: it's like any Sunday). In fact, except cities and towns which Saint Patron is on or around that date, few places have special events on October 12 being Madrid (where there are some acts to celebrate the National Day of Spain) the main exception.

 

[BethC]

Yikes. Without knowing any of that I managed to schedule hitting Logrono during their festival and will get to Leon at the beginning of THAT festival. Not staying IN Logrono, so hopefully that will work out well, but that might mean that getting a room anywhere other than a pilgrim-specific albergue in Leon will be tricky. THANKS FOR THE POSTS about these - it should be fun to be there during them and see firsthand how Spain celebrates!