Event Previews & Reviews from Mallorca

A trip to Deià on the north coast of Majorca is a must for anyone wishing to experience the diversity that this beautiful island has to offer.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations may be over in the UK, but here on Mallorca, we enjoyed a quintessential English garden party at La Residencia Hotel in Deia to mark the British monarch’s 60th year on the throne.

This week Rialto Living kicked off its first art exhibition of 2017 with a showing of Adrian Elgie’s ‘Mis Nuevas Vistas - A Bright New Vista’ and I was kindly invited to visit the opening night. Adrian is an English contemporary landscape artist and, having seen some examples of his paintings and read his background of moving to Mallorca from Cambridgeshire (my home county) to rekindle a romance with his former art college sweetheart on the island, I was keen to find out more.

Spain, being predominantly Catholic, worships its saints devoutly. Every day of the year has a saints name associated with it and some are honoured with celebrations. January is a busy month, with Saint Anthony's day on 17th of January and Saint Sebastian following shortly after, on 20th January.

This weekend saw the BVAW beach volleyball tournament in Alcudia. From the 22nd to the 24th of May the beach filled up with couples in volley vests, short shorts and tiny bikinis leaping, diving and spiking in an attempt to be crowned winners of the Beach Volleyball Around the World’s 2015 tournament.

Nikki Beach’s White Party has become a world famous social affair and is, without a doubt, one of the biggest events of the year in Mallorca. Anybody who’s anybody wants to be seen at this particular party. This year, I went along to see what all the fuss was about.

As you walk through the narrow streets of Pollensa right now you will see ticker tape suspended from the balconies overhead and it is clear that there is something going on in this usually quiet Majorcan town. Infact, there is no doubt that there is a fiesta taking place as the square is beautifully decorated in white ticker tape, and lights and flags are hanging all around Pollenca and Puerto Pollensa. The flags symbolise the Moors and Christians festival and show that the town is in preparation to celebrate their victory for another year.

Extreme by name, extreme by nature. The race up and down Puig Massanella from the picturesque village of Mancor de la Vall is considered by many to be the toughest race in the Cursa de Muntanya race series. This year’s race was made all the more difficult because local landlords would not allow runners to cross their land on the return from the peak.

Before you reach for your top hat or fascinator, this is not Ascot, nor is it actually horse racing as you know it. For in Mallorca, it is trotting races that is the king of sports. The specially bred horses (with a height of 1.5 - 1.7 metres) pull a small and lightweight cart which carries a ‘jockey' around a race track going at speeds you would not think possible. This sport has been popular in Majorca for 200 years and tracks in Palma and Manacor host races once a week.

‘Sa Rua’ is one of Palma’s biggest spectacles. Each year, dozens of floats and carnival goers covering a range of themes parade through the streets of the city. With 42 themes and 16 floats this year, 2018 was the biggest yet!

The festivities of San Juan kicked off on the evening of 23rd June with a wonderful family-friendly atmosphere in front of Palma's majestic Cathedral. A band playing traditional Mallorcan music spurred on the crowds who needed little encouragement to get involved in the folk dance known as Ball de Bot.

The BBQ Nights on Thursdays in the summer are a popular event at Ca’s Xorc Boutique Hotel & Restaurant. For €59 per person, you get all the food you could possibly want to eat, including half a bottle of wine, water, dessert and coffee! So, on a particularly balmy evening, we decided to take on their flaming feast.

Mallorca has long been a big draw for cyclists from all over the world, colourful teams of road bikers are a common sight all over the island but this weekend bikers of a different breed took over Old Town Pollenca in North Mallorca. No cycle shorts in sight here as lightweight bikes were switched for downhill rigs and Lycra was replaced with full body armour; the downhill mountain bikers were in town!