Top 20 Galician Festivals 🎉

Good weather is here to stay in Galicia. And with that, a celebration is in order! While Spain as a whole is known for partying and celebrations, Galicia in particular has an endless list of festivals. Whether you're fond of food, eager for a blast from the past, or wanting to embrace local culture, Galicia has got a festival for everyone! I've decided to compile the best here. Some I've been to, and some are still on my to-do list. Check 'em out!

Historical:

• Feira Franca, Pontevedra. In September, get transported back to the Middle Ages. The city gets decked out for the day, but I remember being disappointed that not everyone was dressed up. (My experience)
  
• Arde Lucus, Lugo. Kick off summer with a wildly popular clash of Roman and Celtic (Castrexo) cultures. It lasts the whole weekend and has many events such as a Roman circus, reenactments, and interactive ceremonies like Celtic baptisms. (My experience)
  
• Assault on the Castle, Vimianzo. Another Medieval Fest, but specifically around the episode which took place at this castle in 1468. In that year there was an irmandiño rebellion where they sieged the castle. Nowadays they do a reenactment where all can participate. Maybe next year will be the year I finally make it there.
  
• Ribadeo Indiano, Ribadeo. This event celebrates indianos, those Galician emigrants to Latin America lucky enough to return home with a fortune at the beginning of the 20th century. The dress code for this event is white, preferably in early 20th century style. Ribadeo -- and the northern coastal region of A Mariña in general-- has many examples of indiana architecture: ornate mansions from the turn of the century. So it must make for a lovely backdrop. Some day!
• Romaría Vikinga, Catoira. Once again off to the Middle Ages, but with a Viking twist. At this festivity they reenact the arrival of the Vikings to Galicia, who at the time were fought off. Now there are only two towers in ruins on the riverside where merrymakers welcome and party with the vikings, rather than clash with them.
  
• Festa da Istoria, Ribadavia. Around for over 30 years, this might be Galicia's original Medieval Fair. If you're looking to be transported back to the Middle Ages, you really have options in Galicia.

 

Roman fort in Arde Lucus

Gastronomic:

• Albariño Festival, Cambados. People swarm to this small capital of white wine, which keeps the crowds entertained at night with concerts. I've been and would certainly go again.
  
• Ribeiro Wine Festival, Ribadavia. Perhaps Galicia's less famous white wine, Ribeiro is celebrated in late spring. A special touch is the wine tasting in a historical building. (My experience)
  
• Wine Festival, Chantada. Always in late winter/early spring, this mostly-red-with-a-dash-of-white wine festival kicks off the year in enology. The downside on its timing is that often the weather does not cooperate. (My experience)
  
• San Simón Cheese Fest, Vilalba. Haven't been yet, but as one of my favorite types of cheese over here, it's certainly on my list! The day's events include cheese tasting and music. (My experience)
• Seafood Festival, O Grove. Razor clams, cockles, barnacles, or crab. Pick your pleasure at this event which celebrates all things seafood on the shores of the Rías Baixas. Plus, no Galician festival is complete without some concerts at night. I must admit I've never been because not only am I not a huge fan of seafood, but it always coincides with San Froilán in October.  
  
• Flat Onion Fest, Miño. In Galicia, every food is deserving of its own festival. Case in point, the flat onion. Not that I'd necessarily recommend going out of your way to attend. Unless you are crazy for this pungent veggie, that is. But it just goes to show that they'll make a festival out of anything here. For example, the following foods also boast their own festival here in Galicia: bread, sea lamprey, hake, Spanish omelette, pepper, tuna, ham, eel, the list goes on.

Onions, onions everywhere

 

Cultural:

• Cans Film Fest, Cans. If movies are more your thing, head to this tiny, tiny village between Vigo and Portugal. It's a pun on Cannes, because the village name is similar. Audiences gather to watch short films in barns, garages, anywhere! And in the evening there are concerts for your entertainment. I've been twice and would go back in a heartbeat, but there are only so many weekends in a year. ;)
  

 

Film screening over pile of wood in Cans

 

Music

• Resurrection Fest, Viveiro. Masses of metal/rock fans from all over Europe--and maybe even the world!-- flock to pack the town of Viveiro. It's a weekend full of dozens of concerts, always with some internationally-acclaimed headliners. This year will be my first time going, so stay tuned! (My experience)
• International Celtic Music Fest, Ortigueira. I've never been, but have heard many tales of the fun environment found at this festival. They bring in Celtic bands from all over the world for a summer weekend of Celtic fun.
   

 Miscellaneous

• Carrilanas (Soap Box Derby), Esteiro. I'm dying to get to this one. It's a summer soap box derby by day with big-name concerts by night! 
• Rapa das Bestas, Sabucedo and others. Hundreds of wild horses are corralled annually for a haircut and de-worming. After the job is done, a celebration ensues.
• Dorna Boat Fest, Ribeira. This longstanding festival on the coast celebrates their traditional fishing boat (dorna), a key part of life in this town for ages. It has mushroomed from a one-day gathering when it started in the late 1940s to its current form: nearly a week of activities, games, concerts, and fun for groups dressed in matching t-shirts. It even has an Icarus competition where people try to make flying contraptions, as well as a Soap Box Derby.
  
• Water Festival, Vilagarcía de Arousa. In the middle of August, this celebration is all about water to cool you down. I've never had the pleasure of attending, but from what you can see on videos online, looks like a riot! I have heard that it is more geared towards the ¨youth¨ than the middle-aged and older. 
• Corpus Christi, various. Several towns in Galicia celebrate Corpus Christi in a similar way: by designing giant ¨rugs¨ made out of petals in the streets. One year I went and watched them work at night in Redondela. It was cool, but not much of a ¨festival¨ if you are looking for a wild time.
  

 

Preparing the petal murals in Redondela

And I didn't even get into patron saint celebrations, which can be a massive event in Galician cities. Not to mention special days celebrated throughout Galicia, such as Magosto or Midsummer. So if you're planning a trip to Galicia, why not schedule your visit around a fab festival that piques your interest?  You surely won't be disappointed. Galicians know how to have a good time!

Pazo de Lourizán: Manor Gardens near Pontevedra

The traditional housing for the wealthy in Galicia were called pazos, which are literally translated as palaces. However, they're not quite as opulent as the Palace of Versailles or any other grand palace that might come to mind. A better translation would be manors or estate houses. The Rías Baixas, on the southwest coast, is dotted with them. Some are wineries, some are open to the public, and some are private property. On the outskirts of the city of Pontevedra lies Pazo de Lourizán.

 The manor house itself is now dilapidated, and you can't go in to visit. But its grandiose staircase and facade remind us of prosperous times gone by. It was built in the 19th century as the summer home for the noteworthy Galician politician, Montero Ríos. It boasts being the place where the Treaty of Paris was hashed out after the Spanish-American War.

With the pazo off limits, the real star of the show is the gardens. It's currently used as an investigation center for forestry, which means it hosts hundreds of different shrubs, trees, and flowers. When we went on a weekday, there was hardly anyone around and we could enjoy a peaceful stroll by ourselves. Well, actually, with our 2-year-old nephew in tow, peaceful probably isn't the best description. But the expansive gardens were lovely and he got to run around freely. The pazo is also on the Camellia Route because it has several varieties of camellia tree (very popular in this region). In the investigation center they are studying what uses camellia oil can have.

The gardens are more than just trees, though. There's a grotto, a fountain, and a long hórreo. The property goes continually upward, so the views of the ría from behind the manor are lovely. They must have been before ENCE was built, at least. ENCE is the controversial paper mill that has been stinking up the city of Pontevedra and its surroundings for decades. Technically their permit is up, but only time (and politics) will tell if they actually close shop. Fingers crossed!

A Visit from the Apalpador

Nowadays, it seems every country has it's own version of Santa Claus. I always appreciated Spain for being different in that regard, since they traditionally receive gifts on 3 Kings Day rather than on Christmas. Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar show up on a camel on the night of January 5th. That evening, in most cities people line the streets to welcome them with a parade. Each king has a float, complete with pages throwing candy to their adoring fans.

But the times they are a-changing, and not purely because of globalization. More and more Spanish families are celebrating with Papá Noel, Santa's Spanish counterpart. Their reasoning is that by giving kids gifts on December 25th, they have weeks of vacation to play with their new toys, compared to the single vacation day for toys received from the Kings. Fair enough.

In Galicia, however, there has been a surge in popularity of a specifically Galician Christmas character: the Apalpador. Apalpador translates to the guy who pats. He's a burly coal maker from the Ancares (or O Caurel), mountains in the eastern part of Lugo province. Once a year, he comes down from the mountains to visit the children of Galicia. He pats their bellies to see if they've been well-fed, and gives them some magic chestnuts to be well-fed and strong all year round. Now, when I first heard the story, it was rather alarming. A strange man rubbing kids' tummies...Call the cops! But now that I've seen the Apalpador in action, it's cute and not creepy.


This year, the Apalpador was spotted in several Galician cities, and even more towns and villages. In Lugo, where he has been going for years, he was greeted by a horde of delighted children. In Pontevedra where he is a relative newcomer, I met him and participated in his walk around town. More and more children must learn about him in school, because quite a few recognized him in the street. Others (like myself originally) were skeptical about this big, bearded man approaching them. But they quickly relaxed when a girl their own age (the Apalpador's unofficial helper) gave them chestnuts.

If in Spain they're going to lose the tradition of the 3 Kings, I hope at least it gets replaced by an original, traditional character like the Apalpador.

Feira Franca

Pontevedra, like almost all Galician cities, has its own historical festival. Feira Franca is a Medieval fair celebrated every September. The name comes from the Middle Ages when Pontevedra was granted permission for a month-long market free of taxes. For the past two decades, this one-day blast from the past has completely transformed the city.

The first time I went, last year, I was amazed by the fact that everyone was dressed up. I love festivals that require costumes, so Lugo's Roman/Celtic fair Arde Lucus is another one of my favorites. But there its reputation has made it blow up, attracting visitors who come as tourists without costumes. Pontevedra, on the other hand, seemed to have kept it a secret. Requiring vendors to dress with the theme helps. But this year, there were a few more people dressed in modern clothes. I guess the cat's out of the bag!

Friday night, several knights ride into town on horses, to read the proclamation. That the next day commences Feira Franca! Saturday is full of activities for the whole family: an obstacle course and theatrical performance for kids; Medieval stands to peruse; jousting tournaments; Medieval dance class; spectacles and roving bands. Once again we rented a table in the old town for lunch and to rest our weary feet throughout the day. Some restaurants go all out for their lunch guests on the terrazas. It's fun to see decked out banquets, fit for the Medieval nobility seated at them. Groups of friends can also set up their own Medieval lunch under tents in the tree-lined promenade of the city center.


This year my favorite part of Feira Franca was the Medieval dance. First the professionals danced. Then, with A Peregrina church for a background, a few dozen of us (mostly commoners, some nobles) pranced around in wide skirts or breeches. The most intimate contact was grasping of hands as we danced. Scandalous! Maybe next year we'll choreograph something to the sound of lutes and harpsichords-- something to amaze the troubadours.

The fun continued on to the wee hours of the night. It ended in a bar with a movie screen which was showing none other than ¨Monty Python and the Holy Grail.¨ Relevant.

Os Maios (May Day)

May first in Galicia is a double whammy. In all of Spain, it's a holiday (Labor day), so there are marches in just about every city. This year the speeches focused on the success of the Women's Strike this past March 8th and on the continuing battle for better pensions, which has been going on for the past few months. But Galicia is also one of the few Autonomous Communities to celebrate the beginning of spring with May Day (Os Maios).

The tradition (which probably traces back to the Celts) is to make a decorated tree with flowers and bushes. In the area of province of Ourense, they can only use wildflowers and wild-growing bush. In Pontevedra, they use flowers and plants from the garden, as well as eggshells and orange peels. After building their May tree, participants dance around it while singing couplets; almost always a social critique. In Pontevedra's case, almost all the May trees were made by middle school students. The groups take turns performing in front of the crowd on a stage in a town center plaza. Then people vote on their favorite tree/couplet combination.

Another less common tradition is to place the branch of a yellow-flowered xesta (apparently called ¨common broom¨ in English) on your car. By less common, I mean not as visible in the cities. Saw tons of them at the seaside. Before cars were around, I imagine they hung them on their house doors. Hanging the plant is supposed to guarantee a fruitful harvest this year. We stopped to cut some near the side of the road, but it didn't last long wedged between the car and the license plate. I guess that means only half of our plants will die.

We took advantage of the day off and nice weather by going rollerblading by the sea. And then checking out some really big rocks. Cool.