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.

If you were in Palma on Friday night, you might have wondered what was going at the Parque del Mar, in front of the Cathedral. A massive pair of inflatable legs stretched out from the centre of a dazzling stage complete with bright red heels. 

Calling all seafood lovers! The MarisGalicia seafood fair will be ending its Palma tour on the 25th October, taking with it the freshest tastes from Galicia. Even the rain felt authentic today as I headed towards the huge marquee in the east of the capital, set up especially to host this annual seafood extravaganza.

Mood Beach Bar and Restaurant celebrated its 9th anniversary with a lavish party on Friday. Guests were greeted by sexy angels on horseback and treated to tasty blue Hawaiian cocktails in flutes rimmed with coconut flakes.

Nit de Foc, or the direct English translation ‘Night of Fire’, is one of Mallorca’s biggest fiestas. A raucous evening of bonfires, beach parties, midnight swims, music and dancing until dawn. What more could you possibly want from a Friday evening in Mallorca? I was extremely excited to get involved this year, as there had been a lot of hype in the lead up to the evening with locals, expats and tourists all getting involved.

Mallorca’s fun-seekers, foodies and fashionistas gather at Nikki Beach’s world-famous champagne brunch every Sunday. This brunch bonanza is an all-you-can-eat feast with two hours’ worth of unlimited champagne.

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.

Every year, during the second weekend of May, the inhabitants of Soller prepare their muskets, bring out the black shoe polish, and engage in fearsome battles to commemorate one of the town’s greatest historical triumphs.  In 1561, the town was invaded by pillaging pirates from North Africa who were set on stealing riches and selling the folk of Soller into slavery.  This event is celebrated these days during the annual Soller ‘Fira & Firo’ which honours the victory of the town’s people, (the Christian Sollerics) over the invading Algerian Moors (the Saracens).  

Last weekend saw the 9th edition of Mallorca’s Almond Fair, known to the locals as Fira de la Flor d'Ametler. The event celebrating Mallorca’s famous almonds attracted thousands of people who travelled to the peaceful village of Son Servera in the east of the island.

Every year in Pollensa the town hosts a week of festivities (La Patrona), from around the 20th July and culminating with an epic battle on the 2nd of August. All throughout the week there are concerts, exhibitions, displays, parades and late night parties and the whole festival is accentuated with canon fire, shotguns, bell ringing, trumpets, drums and fireworks.

Santanyi's weekend market is one of the better markets on Mallorca. It's not a big market, certainly not as big as the sprawling market at Sineu, but it has some interesting stalls with unusual gifts to take home, some fresh local produce and even some clothing and art.

The month of June gets the summer beach parties in Mallorca off to a fine start. The weather is glorious and we all look for excuses to get down on the sand and remember why we moved here. The beach and perfect horse shoe bay of Port de Soller never fail to delight and the children start to look forward to their holidays and swapping school shoes for no shoes. The diving platform is installed in the water this week and then the locals know that summer has officially started.