Event Previews & Reviews from Mallorca

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.

Casa Font i Roig is one of the many historical dwellings that have been converted into small boutique establishments in Mallorca. Many of these places have top-notch restaurants and, in the summer months, they often offer themed evenings like BBQ or Tapas Nights. So, on a warm summers evening, we went along to try Casa Font i Roig’s Friday night BBQ bonanza.

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.

The children of Mallorca have twelve weeks holiday in the summer. Summer schools are therefore essential to allow parents to work in the tourist industry and to stop the little ones getting bored of holiday life. The families of the hidden valley have choices - groups based in school buildings throughout Soller, the community centre Ca’n Dulce, or the favoured one of my family – the Tennis & Swimming Summer School. 

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.

The drive or bus ride to the small mountain village of Estellenchs, in the southwest corner of Mallorca, is quite breathtaking in its beauty. If sand, sangria and discos are your thing then read no further. However, for the discerning lover of pure and unspoiled Mediterranean countryside read on. How to get there? If you have a car at your disposal, so much the better. If not, head to the Plaza España underground bus terminal in central Palma and take the red and yellow IB 11 or 217 (beware, the numbers are frequently changed just to keep you on your toes! Obviously, the key is to look for the names of the villages (Palma) – Esporles – Banyalbufar – Estellenchs). If you are fortunate enough to miss the last bus back (18.05, when I enquired) you could do a lot worse than to check into the small, family run hotel called Sa Plana, but more of that later.

Palma Boat Show 2017 saw more than 500 exhibitors representing almost 4000 boat and marine brands in front of the city’s iconic cathedral, between Friday 28th April and Tuesday 2nd May 2017.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Santa Ponça's annual Festes del Rei en Jaume came to a close on Sunday after eleven days of festivities. Thousands of visitors flocked to the coastal town to see it transformed into a medieval stage where Christians and Moors reenacted the battle of 1229 with humour and gusto.

From 27th May to 5th June 2016 the leafy avenue of Passeig del Born will host Palma's annual book fair.

The 50th International Plastic Art’s Competition on display in Pollenca Museum.

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).