34TH FIRA DE FIRES
Nov 9-24: This traditional fair will take place in November weekends stating on Nov 9-10, then on Nov 16-17 and the last one will be Nov 23-24, when the clasic cars exhibition and the food tasting will take place.
November 9 and 10
This year's festival launches under the theme 'Five Senses Fair' - three senses, really, for the first weekend: touch, sight and sound.
Ondara's huge al fresco fête gets off the ground with stalls and exhibition stands where you can watch master craftsmen and craftswomen plying trades that date back generations and are, in many cases, unique to the Marina Alta district (northern Alicante province): Espartograss weaving being among them, with everything from fans to furniture created from what grows by the river banks.
You can also visit a display on the ancient art of dry-stone walling in its local format, in the El Prado centre, browse and buy beautiful, colourful and intricate handicrafts at the stalls on the Avenida General Bosch on Sunday.
You're probably always seeing posters advertising pilota valenciana matches – now you can find out all about this very local handball game on a stall run by the local club, and take part in workshops to learn the basics. Craft masterclasses, guided tours of the town with a local crafts theme, and a photo exhibition will immerse you in all things arty – then let your inner 10-yearold loose on the fairground rides and stuffing your face with candy floss.
November 16 and 17
If your own legs can handle it, the fairground is open this week, too – and on two Wednesdays, November 13 and 20, prices drop for the whole day to €1.50 per ride.
The second weekend of the Fira de Fires brings a huge trade fair with stalls run by most of the businesses, associations and charities in Ondara – information stands where you can find out what they do, and stalls where you can buy their goods are set up in the El Prado square. Continuing with last week's craft theme, one of the region's everpopular Mediaeval markets fills the Avenida General Bosch, which pops back a few centuries to when this and other parts of Spain were under Arab rule, the predominant religion was Islam and most of the population was of Arabic origin.
An animal exhibition is held in the bull ring, and livestock parades, a chance to see the beauty of properly-trained animals perform and admire attractive, well-bred and wellcared-for creatures.
November 23 and 24
Tuck into some great grub at the culinary fair on Sunday in the El
Prado square.
Stalls set up under canvas run by numerous restaurants across the Marina Alta offer bites of the best of traditional local cuisine, sometimes with a modern, decorative flair and sometimes just good old-fashioned tummy-fillers, where a single ticket provides an all-you-can-eat pass. Classic cars take you through the ages of transport all weekend on the Avenida de Alicante, a motorbike rally on the Avenida Doctor Fleming on Sunday morning is set to bring up to 2,000 bikes roaring into town, and a string of open-air (weather permitting) live music concerts will keep you entertained all Saturday night. Throughout the three weekends, the mini-tourist 'choo-choo' train is a fun way to hop from one end of the Fira de Fires to the other, jumping on and off as you see fit, or taking a sightseeing tour of the attractions so you can plan your day's browsing and entertainment.