Summer in Barcelona: “Festa Mejor de Gràcia” 2013 begin!

As every August, the Gràcia neighbourhood traditional festivity begins, with its fully decorated streets and activities suitable for all ages. If you are spending a few days or a term in Barcelona or you live here and want to know all the information needed to make the most of the 197th edition of this event, keep reading…

Tomorrow, August the 15th, officially begin the Gràcia area local festivity, but today at 7pm the Los Sírex lead singer, Antoni Miquel Cervero, will deliver the opening speech at the Plaza de la Vila. Throughout the year Gràcia neighbors have been preparing with great enthusiasm the ornamentation that characterizes and gives color to the celebration based on original and creative ideas and concepts with recycled materials. On the 18th prizes will be awarded to the best decorated streets, one of the most anticipated moments by neighbors who have been working hard on them, this year, on topics as varied as a Venetian recreation or a reproduction of the game “Angry Birds”.

This year the festivities are expected to be more familiar and inclusive, as the organization have scheduled more daytime activities for children and for disabled people looking to offer a safe and peaceful celebration, of which no one is excluded. As every year, the night noise is a major concern of the neighbors who, besides from enjoying the party in their neighborhood, they also want to have some rest, clean streets and no damaged ornamentation. That’s why the number of sound limiters to reduce the perceived noise level has increased to 47 in the various stages and they maintain the private security in the streets. A new activity this year is the promotion of designation of origin Catalan wines with a wines route through the streets of Gràcia between the 16th and the 21th of August, the day on which the “Festa Major” will end up.

Click on the image to download the map

You can’t miss out on the Catalan traditions like castellers, correfocs, cercavilas or parades of giants and big heads (gigantes and cabezudos). Each night there will also be free concerts and shows on stages located in the main streets and squares in Gràcia, among them it’s worth to mention the Festigàbal, a mini indie festival the 19th and the 20th at night in the Rovira Square, the performance of the Catarres, on Monday at 10pm in the Plaza del Sol, and various swing bands that enliven the night in Diamant Square, among many other bands and DJs that will cheer up attendees until dawn.

From ShBarcelona we highly recommend you the “Festa Major de Gràcia”!