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.

Mallorca was blessed with perfect running conditions for the Ultra Mallorca Serra de Tramuntana (UMSdT) races last Saturday – the 105km “Ultra” from Andratx to Pollenca and the 63km “Ultra Trail” from Valldemossa to Pollenca.

Easter week or 'Semana Santa' as it is known is a very important time in Soller. The town divides up into fraternities – groups of people attached to a local church who have an affinity to a particular group of penitents. The penitents dress in the robes of their particular fraternity and this includes wearing pointed hats, reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan, with eye holes cut out and the rest of the face covered.

There was no rest for the wicked in Puerto Pollensa on Sunday 19th July, in fact there was no rest for anyone until well after midnight. The streets were filled with revellers and pyrotechnics as the Fiesta of Virgen del Carmen came to a close in explosive style with a Correfoc parade of fire wielding demons.

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.

After a day of heavy rain, the sunshine came out for the second edition of The Spring Fair in Port Adriano. From 11:00 to 19:00, an area of the port was dedicated exclusively to family fun.

Friday’s stormy weather and the recent sighting of a large blue shark around the island didn’t hold back SUP fanatics taking part in the annual event over the weekend of the 14th May 2016.

Nikki Beach’s White Party has become a world famous social affair and is, without a doubt, one of the biggest events of the year in Mallorca. Anybody who’s anybody wants to be seen at this particular party. This year, I went along to see what all the fuss was about.

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.

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.

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.

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.