Article
Barcelona Celebrates Creativity and Catalan Camaraderie
Published: Fri 30 Aug 2013 at 10:01
Updated: Fri 30 Aug 2013 at 10:03
August 2013 saw the 197th La Festa Gràcia held in Barcelona, Spain. Every year, for one week in August, the streets of the Gràcia district of Barcelona come alive with a sea of colourful and creative street decorations, in a festival to simply celebrate the charm of the neighbourhood.
The greatest feature of the event is the street decorating competition in which the local residents are challenged to create elaborate decorations to adorn their streets. It is fiercely competitive and each year the standards are raised as the decorations become more ambitious and imaginative.
Traditional Catalan Activity
Another highlight of the festival is the correfoc. This traditional Catalan activity is known in English as a ‘fire run’. The participants dress as devils and dance through the streets to the sound of pounding drums while waving fireworks; it is a real spectacle to behold.
The annual festival is free and offers several days of fun with activities, concerts and parades for all the family to enjoy after arriving on cheap flights to Spain with Jet2.com.
The winner of this year’s competition was announced as Carrer Progrés. This display featured an impressive and imposing dinosaur construction bursting out of the darkness. Second prize went to Carrer Mozart, whose efforts featured an array of flying objects in a floating balloon scene.
