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.

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.

Last week we saw opening parties for Hed Kandi, Mallorca Rocks and Nikki Beach this week we have plenty more to look forward to with Superclub openings, garden parties, more festivals and walks with both guides and the undead.

Out of all the many food festivals that are held on Mallorca throughout the year, The Frenchman and I were most eagerly awaiting the Tapalma tapas festival (7-11th October 2010). I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t want to crawl round dozens of Palma’s bars and restaurants, eat their best tapas at bargain prices, and wash it all down with lashings of discounted beer and wine? It sounded like the grown-up version of a student pub crawl.

The Mallorca Live Festival, to be held on 29th and 30th April this year, offers up sixteen eclectic and colourful hours of music, art, food and design.

The Kaiser Chiefs played Mallorca Rocks last night in the Majorca beach resort of Magaluf. The Chiefs were only the second band since the opening party with Ed Sheeran three weeks ago. Since then the crowds have been treated to the likes of Maverick Sabre and Chase and Status but this was the first full band with guitars and vocals and it was a band who are making something of a come back after a long hiatus. Could they still be enough to entertain the Mallorca crowd?

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.

Every year at this time Soller becomes the centre of the universe for the Sa Mostra International Folklore dance festival. This year is the thirtieth anniversary of Sa Mostra and the week has got off to a very exciting start. On Monday 19th July 2010, it all kicked off in the square in Soller with a parade and dance performances from participating groups.

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.

Home to the coolest pool parties on the island, Nikki Beach has a Global reputation for luxury, fine dining and it's legendary party atmosphere.

On Saturday, February 1st, I went along to the 2nd edition of The SuppER Club, hosted by The Van Mallorca. This was a Japanese evening held at the trendy Zunray Yoga Studio on Calle Sant Feliu.

La Patrona is arguably the best and most popular summer festival in Majorca. This fiesta runs from the 24th July to the 2nd August with activities and festivities happening every evening, with the popular ‘Simulacre de Moros i Cristians’ being the final and most exciting event in the schedule.

The far easterly village of Capdepera was bursting with activity last weekend as it celebrated its 17th Medieval fair. Over 70,000 visitors flocked to its picturesque streets, most heading straight up to the walled fortress of Capdepera Castle, which provides a very authentic backdrop to the festivities.

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.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend in Mallorca you are spoilt for choice. There are so many fairs, festivals, concerts and shows on over the next few days and you can find details about them all in our Events Calendar but for a run down of our top five read on....

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.