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. 

As most countries in the world begin to wrap up their Christmas festivities, in Spain the Christmas holidays are still in full swing. 

Happy New Year, the Three Kings have made their journey to all Majorcan homes. They started with their arrival by boat in the Port of Soller where they were met by hundreds of local children waiting for the sweets and smiles from the Kings and their pages. They knew that this was just the start and that overnight the presents would arrive, delivered by the Kings on camels or donkeys.

Sometimes on a weekend, it is nice simply to laze around the house, take a leisurely breakfast and flick idly through the newspaper (or your fancy i-Pad if you are The Frenchman). But not so this weekend! For it is the annual Olive Fair, held in Caimari, in the north west of Mallorca. Named as one of the top ten gastronomic festivals in Europe by The Guardian, it is actually one of the autumn fairs on Majorca that you really shouldn't miss.

The Nit de l'Art is the biggest art event on the island, kicking off the artistic season in the island’s capital. Each year, people flood the streets of Palma eager to sample the artistic delights on show.

This is the week of celebration for St Pere – St Peter. All the fishing communities in Majorca revere the name of their patron saint and Soller is no exception. The fiesta of St Pere is in full swing and one of the highlights of the Soller programme takes place on Wednesday 27th June 2012 at 20.30 hrs - a concert by Pro Musica.

At risk of ruining one of Mallorca’s best kept secrets, I am going to share my experience of La Fira del Vi de Pollença, in English – Pollenca’s wine fair.

If someone says 'Mallorca market', the one that springs to mind for me is the traditional and popular Wednesday market in Sineu (pronounced Sin a you), which has been going since way back in the 14th century. Sineu is a quaint inland town. If you stuck a needle where you guess the middle of the island of Mallorca is, you'd probably hit Sineu, geographically almost centric, strategically situated in the plains known as Es Pla.

Spring officially takes hold. With support from the city of Palma de Mallorca and the collective Balearic Islands Government, the international festival of contemporary dance, 'Palma amb la dansa' as it's called in Catalan...or Palma loves dance in English, has arrived to Mallorca for the eighth year in a row.

The beginning of October saw the world’s best dressage riders come to Mallorca to deliver a show-stopping performance at Spain’s first 5* dressage tournament and one of the most difficult dressage competitions on the planet.

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.

Pitched in a large tent on the outskirts of Mallorca’s capital city of Palma, Grup Trui hosted this years Mallorcan take on the German beer festival, the Oktoberfest. Frothy litres of beer and currywurst were served by waiters and waitresses in traditional German dress and a band played classic tunes to entertain the crowds.

The Soller road from Palma cuts through fertile lands of almond and olive groves. The odd goat and flocks of sheep graze in the surrounding fields. A straight road that gives no clue of the vast estates that lie on either side of the road and the interesting stories they have to tell. A few years ago Jill Sander, the German fashion designer, was prepared to spend 8 million euros on one of these estates and her interest sparked government intervention.