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.

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.

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.

The 4th edition of the Mallorca Open sent tennis fanatics into a frenzy on the island. Between June 17th and 23rd 2019, under the leadership of Toni Nadal, this WTA international tennis tournament hosted some of the world’s best female tennis stars competing for the $250,000 prize money up for grabs.

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.

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.

On the third Thursday in September, a selection of Palma’s art galleries open their doors to the public free of charge, for the cultural extravaganza that is known as the Nit de l’Art. Organised by Art Palma and the Association of Independent Art Galleries of the Balearics, it is one of the top social gatherings in Palma’s events calendar, and you can pick up flyers for the event in tourist offices and art galleries.

In recent years, Mallorca has embraced the street food trend that has hit Western Europe, with food festivals popping up at various events around the island. This new found love went to the next level, as the first weekend in June saw Barcelona’s legendary VAN VAN make its debut trip across the Spanish waters to Palma’s Parc de la Mar, next to the city's iconic cathedral.

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.

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).  

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.