Late May: Feria de la Manzanilla in Sanlucar de Barrameda
This festival is all to do with the locals celebrating their favourite drink… sherry. Copious amounts of this rich drink will be consumed (along with plenty of fish and tapas to accompany of course). The week will begin officially on the Tuesday night when the lights are turned on but festivities will have begun the previous weekend. Then on Sunday there is a spectacular fireworks display to end the festival with a bang.
Spring/Summer: La Fiesta de Moros y Cristianos
La Fiesta de Moros y Cristianos is a celebration of the victory over the Moors in the 13th century.The festival dates from the 16th century and includes street parades that depict battle re – enactments with costumed soldiers. It is held in various cities at different times throughout the year with some of the largest street parades being in Alicante, Alcoy and Villajoyosa.
Mid-June: El Colacho (Baby Jumping) Festival, Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos
On the 7th June 2016, a uniquely Spanish festival occurs. Townspeople will dress up in colourful costumes and form a queue to leap over a mattress that is laden with the babies that have been born over the previous twelve months. The ceremony is said to rid the babies of evil spirits and guards against illness. This is one of the Corpus Christi festivals held all over Spain on the first Sunday after Corpus Christi.
Late June: Night of San Juan, Valencia region
This festival is the pagan celebration of the Summer Equinox (20th – 24th June) – so no costumes or religious parades. It is the one night of the year where the locals can light bonfires on the beach, barbeque and drink and later on everyone will jump over the fires and waves to make a wish. To contribute you need to bring your own wood, food and drinks, and celebrations to last until at least sunrise. Valencia and Alicante have the biggest congregations of local partiers, with celebrations in Alicante lasting several days and culminating in huge papier-mâché figures being burnt on the night of 24 June.
End of June: Haro Wine Festival
There are celebrations all over Spain to mark the wine harvest (28th – 30th June) and one of the best is held in Haro in La Rioja region. La Batalla de Vino or the Wine Fight starts with a huge street party on the eve of 28 June. The following day the locals climb up a nerby mountain and drench each other with rioja using sprays, buckets, water pistols, or whatever they can lay their hands on. The battle will then move down the mountain and back to its original location where dancing and the general celebration continues, along with lots of vino tinto.
Late June to July: International Festival of Music and Dance, Granada
A celebration of flamenco and classical music that traces its origins back to the 1880s, and combines the vibrant energy of Spanish guitars, castanets and flamenco dancers.