Spain Highlights Upcoming Calendar of Events
Madrid will hold several fairs for food lovers, game lovers and fashionists. The capital’s Trade Fair Institution, IFEMA, has a 30-year history of staging events, and this spring will be no exception.
From March 5 through 8, all those interested in gastronomy can visit Salon de Gourmets International. The 25-year-old International Fine Food and Beverage event positioned Spain as a gastronomy pioneer in Europe.
From March 11 through 13, the 29th edition of the International Footwear and Leather Goods Fair (Modacalzado+Iberpiel) will introduce the latest trends in footwear and leather goods for the upcoming fashion season. From March 28 through 30, the 32nd Spanish gaming and gambling trade show, Fer-Interazar, will showcase the latest in electronic games, gambling equipment, leisure centers and amusement arcades.
In Barcelona, from March 24 through April 1, the 2012 Saló d’Art Antic i Modern will introduce Barcelona’s value as an international art capital. Attendees will take a journey through the history of art, including thousands of works of classical and contemporary origin, medieval sculptures, as well as modernist, art nouveau and art deco pieces.
From March 26 through 29, Alimentaria 2012 will exhibit food innovation. Recognized as one of the most important food and drink trade shows in the world, Alimentaria will offer participants specialized programs, including a “Chef of the Year” competition, a fish conference and a freshly cut and ready-to-eat products exhibition.
From March 9 to 11, the city of Toledo celebrates Purim with special events in the Jewish Quarter, including guided tours of synagogues and food-tasting events featuring traditional cuisine of the local Sephardic community. An ideal opportunity to discover Spain’s Sephardic legacy, visitors can also attend Sephardic music concerts, exhibitions on the city’s Hebrew past and customary Jewish celebrations on Purim, like public recitations of the Scroll of Esther.
From March 14 to 19, Valencia welcomes spring with its San José Fallas festival. Custom-made cardboard statues, called ninots, are displayed around the city as part of an art, ingenuity and good taste competition. All of the statues (except for the selected winner) are then devoured by fire in a unique spectacle on the night of March 19. Open-air celebrations, parades and bullfights complete the festive program.
Through April 1, the town of Burgo de Osma in the province of Soria hosts Matanza del Cerdo. Families come together around a table for a traditional pig slaughter, later used for ham, blood pudding, chorizo sausage, pork loin and other delicacies. This ritual is a day of neighborliness and community spirit with folk groups, bagpipe players and a host of local characters to complement the traditional celebrations.
