Seville April Fair Spain
Spain - Barcelona - Seville - Valencia - Madrid
The famous poet Lord Byron once referred to Seville as being famous for its oranges and women and when one sees the festival out here, the meaning of his words become clear.Spain is noted for the various colorful and extensive festivals and Seville's April Fair (La Feria de Abril) is one of them which presents a true picture of a vibrant and colorful Spain. Seville’s April Fair was started in 1846, surprisingly, by two none-sevillians, a Basque and a Catalan. The main purpose of these two industrious founders was no other than to improve business (trade and agriculture).
However, after some time the local people changed the character of the fair into something more festive and colorful. It has now converted to one of the mayor folkloric celebrations in Spain and one of the main tourist attractions of Seville.
Some important features of this extravagantly rich festival are as follows:-
The fair officially begins on Monday at midnight, normally 2 weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week), and ends with a fireworks display the following Sunday, again, at midnight
The grand opening of "La Feria de April" is done with "El Alumbrado" (the lighting)which means the official lighting of the lanterns where half a million little lights are turned on at once, especially at the main gate.
People dress in traditional costumes — not only on the fairground but in the city as well. It's wonderful and bizarre to see woman in costimes of the 18th century.
At noon every day there is a procession called the 'Paseo de Caballos' in which local girls in their full flamenco outfit are pulled through the city in beautiful carriages by splendid horses.
The city is overbooked well in advance for this event as thousand of locals and tourists alike party until dawn.
In the evening some of the year's top bullfights take place at the Plaza de Toros de Maestranza with tickets selling out well in advance.
In the afternoon, one cannot miss the majestic parade of carts and horses, being the horse riders dressed in the typical "traje corto
The Feria, where the natural beauty of the Sevillian girls and women is enhanced by the typical flamenca dresses, is an ideal place for cordiality and friendship amongst glasses of manzanilla wine (sherry), some tapas (small andalusian snacks) to eat, with singing an couples dancing Sevillanas (a specific version of the flamenco dance). The most important reason for going to the fair is just to have fun with friends and enjoying a festive surrounding
The Venue:-
This delighful Seville fair is celebrated every year on an huge open site (about 1500 x 700 meters), just out of the city center, to the south of the Los Remedios quarter, opposite of the Maria Luisa park. On this site, the Seville people and companies construct thousands of small, temporary “houses” of cardboard walls and canvas roofing, known as casetas. The place turns into an ephemeral city that only needs to last one week.
If you are planning to come to Spain don’t even dare miss out this fun as it is an experience of a lifetime. Come and enjoy the color, the place and the festive mood!
However, after some time the local people changed the character of the fair into something more festive and colorful. It has now converted to one of the mayor folkloric celebrations in Spain and one of the main tourist attractions of Seville.
Some important features of this extravagantly rich festival are as follows:-
The fair officially begins on Monday at midnight, normally 2 weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week), and ends with a fireworks display the following Sunday, again, at midnight
The grand opening of "La Feria de April" is done with "El Alumbrado" (the lighting)which means the official lighting of the lanterns where half a million little lights are turned on at once, especially at the main gate.
People dress in traditional costumes — not only on the fairground but in the city as well. It's wonderful and bizarre to see woman in costimes of the 18th century.
At noon every day there is a procession called the 'Paseo de Caballos' in which local girls in their full flamenco outfit are pulled through the city in beautiful carriages by splendid horses.
The city is overbooked well in advance for this event as thousand of locals and tourists alike party until dawn.
In the evening some of the year's top bullfights take place at the Plaza de Toros de Maestranza with tickets selling out well in advance.
In the afternoon, one cannot miss the majestic parade of carts and horses, being the horse riders dressed in the typical "traje corto
The Feria, where the natural beauty of the Sevillian girls and women is enhanced by the typical flamenca dresses, is an ideal place for cordiality and friendship amongst glasses of manzanilla wine (sherry), some tapas (small andalusian snacks) to eat, with singing an couples dancing Sevillanas (a specific version of the flamenco dance). The most important reason for going to the fair is just to have fun with friends and enjoying a festive surrounding
The Venue:-
This delighful Seville fair is celebrated every year on an huge open site (about 1500 x 700 meters), just out of the city center, to the south of the Los Remedios quarter, opposite of the Maria Luisa park. On this site, the Seville people and companies construct thousands of small, temporary “houses” of cardboard walls and canvas roofing, known as casetas. The place turns into an ephemeral city that only needs to last one week.
If you are planning to come to Spain don’t even dare miss out this fun as it is an experience of a lifetime. Come and enjoy the color, the place and the festive mood!
