This is Soller’s weekend of the ‘Apropa’t A L’Art’. Literally translated means ‘come to the art’ and it is the three days of the year when art, music and poetry are honoured in our town. On the 6th, 7th & 8th August from 6 pm onwards, many of our fine buildings are open to the public to view the paintings and participate in the music and poetry – it’s like a mini Eisteddfod here.
The first step is to pick up a programme from the town hall or tourist information tram. A pink and white sheet gives a map of all the locations and what is happening at each one. On Friday and Saturday, the openings are from 6pm to midnight and on Sunday from 6pm to 9pm. The route takes you from the cloisters of the Soller’s train station to seventeen other destinations around the centre of town. The Town Hall, the Museum, Can Prunera, local churches, art galleries and some unusual locations are all opening their doors for the weekend of the arts.
On Friday, the music starts with piano and saxophone in the Museum of Soller at 7.30pm followed by the flute in Soller’s town hall at 9pm. The music trail then continues up the Lluna to Ca’n Prunera where music will be played in the gardens from 9.30pm. All this against the backdrop of beautiful paintings and ceramics.
On Saturday, music will be found at the train station at 7pm where the saxophone will be the instrument that passengers on the last train of the day to Palma will have ringing in their ears as they leave the Hidden Valley. At 10pm at the Church of the Escolapies (No 12 on the map) the acclaimed pianist Suzanne Bradbury will be giving a concert (get there early – there is only ever standing room when she performs).
Poetry readings will be given on at 8pm on Friday at the Sa Posada de Montcaire by Pere Colom and on Saturday at 8pm at Can Dulce by Josep Bonnin.
Soller has its own Museum of Modern Art in the newly opened Can Prunera which has brought many new visitors to our town. That together with the permanent Dali exhibition at the Railway station is enough to put Soller firmly on the artistic map. The beauty of this weekend is that visitors can come to town, have dinner or a drink in the square and then drop in to all the galleries on offer. No entrance fees and the opportunity to spread the experience over three days.
The patron of the arts for this weekend is one Tolo Oliver. He is a local Soller man who runs a very successful estate agency and the lottery and tobacconists shop. Tolo is a man content with his life in Soller. Born and bred here, he can see no good reason to leave the town. He lives and breathes everything that Soller has to offer and is a local legend. His ambition was to make enough money to buy shares in Soller Railway Company and become part of the aristocracy of the town. He has achieved this ambition and the Aprop’t A L’Art is part of his gift back to the town he loves. He will be much in evidence this weekend making sure that locals and visitors alike are enjoying this unusual artistic opportunity.
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Come to the Art of Soller!