Read reviews of the best Mallorca events
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.
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 Esporles Sweet Fair began in 2005 and is held on the first Sunday of October to guarantee fine weather. The event is becoming increasingly popular and diverse with every passing year and offers a unique opportunity to meet the people who make a fine range of traditional, homemade and, often, organic foods including wines, cakes, pastries, jams and sweets. And, of course, to sample their wares! Here are some of my favourite stands from Sunday's fair, with an insight into the characters and traditions behind the produce.
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).
There's been a flurry of classical music on the Island this month, so Shirley took time out to enjoy the Summer Sun Concert in Port de Soller last Friday.
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.
Following last year’s success, the Port Adriano Street Food Festival once again brought thousands of people to the prestigious port over Easter weekend. Locals and tourists alike flocked to the port to sample the mouth-watering food on offer.
It's mushroom season in Mallorca right now, with plenty of foraging to be had in the forests around the island. Mancor de la Vall is the village which has laid claim to the fair celebrating this humble fungus. This lovely little town lies in the foothills of the Tramuntana mountains and this autumn fair is one of its annual highlights.
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.
This Friday 8th July Bar Flexas will once again be hosting its mad, fab and outrageously camp fiesta in Parc de la Mar. With cabaret-style shows and plenty of live music, the flamboyant presenters are sure to have you on your feet singing and dancing by the end of the night.
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 joys of February in the Soller valley must be experienced. The blossom is appearing on the trees, and the orchards are a mass of pink and white. The grass has been overtaken by yellow sorrel, providing a carpet for the blossom. This truly is a special time of year and an early indication that spring in Majorca comes sooner than in England.
I have been living in Palma for nearly 9 months and was surprised to stumble upon a somewhat common monthly event but still very unknown to many residents here on the island - The Changing of the Guards of Honour.
Inca hosted the fair of all fairs last Thursday celebrating the annual Dijou Bo. Held on the third Thursday of November, this festival is the largest in Mallorca, it's a public holiday in Inca and many people from other towns take the day off just to visit the event.
Traditionally, Mallorcans would celebrate All Hallows' Day ('Tots Els Sants') instead of All Hallows' Eve. People would visit the local cemeteries and bring fresh flowers to their dead.
The people of Mallorca, like their mainland brothers, love a fiesta. Almost every weekend there seems to be a saint or a historical event that requires face paint and explosions, or at the very least a market. The Fiesta Sant Joan in Mallorca celebrates the life of John the Baptist and in Majorca Sant Joan is a very big deal. Every other street, shop and restaurant seems to be named after him, he's the Patron Saint of four towns and he even has a town named after him.
Blessings, torrades, ximbombas, fireworks and climbing a 20 metre tree are all things you may witness in Mallorca during the week of Sant Antoni.
There is a definite buzz around Puerto Pollensa at the moment as once again the locals and visitors to this town in the north of Majorca celebrate the Patron Verge del Carme (the Virgin Carmen- Patron Saint of sailors). This is the second of two main festivals held in Puerto Pollensa, the first being Sant Pere (St. Peter) that was held between the 28th June to 1st July.