Festivals in Gràcia en Barcelona

Celebration date

The proclamation is pronounced on 14 August and the party takes place normally from 15 August to 21. The calendar is part of the Vila's festive protocol, although the schedules, activities and participating streets are published for each edition.

The Festa Major does not constitute in itself a general public holiday in Barcelona. 15 August does usually appear in the work calendar for the Assumption, a condition different from the neighbourhood nature of the celebration.

Venue

The festival occupies the streets and squares of Vila de Gràcia, in the Barcelona district of Gràcia. The Plaza de la Vila is a prominent ceremonial point, while the garnish competition is distributed among the spaces prepared by the neighbourhood commissions. The number and exact location change every year.

Also check out the festivals of Barcelona.

More than two centuries of history

The celebration is more than two hundred years old. In its beginnings it was celebrated around 25 March, the day of the Annunciation. After the religious and urban changes of the 1830s, the date moved to 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption.

The first known written reference to the decorations of streets and squares is from 1862. The decorations evolved from branches, pennants and strips of paper to today's large thematic sets. After a period of decline in the 1960s, the neighbourhood movement revitalized the festival and expanded both the decorated spaces and the popular culture events.

Calles y plazas engalanadas

The commissions work for months on designs made mainly with transformed materials and ephemeral structures. Each space develops its own theme and participates in a contest. The result is not a uniform commercial decoration, but a collective work linked to the associations of each street or square.

Ritual y cultura popular

• Proclamation on 14 August from the Plaza de la Vila.
• Gralle matinades and opening parades on 15 August.
• Cercavila de festa major with giants, big heads, bestiary and popular culture groups.
• Diada castellera, sardanas, correfocs, conciertos y actividades familiares.
• Contest and awards ceremony for decorated streets and squares.
• Closing events that say goodbye to the celebration on 21 August.

Organisation and participation

The Fundació Festa Major de Gràcia articulates the work of the commissions and collaborates with the Gràcia District of Barcelona City Council. Neighbors, entities, popular culture groups, merchants, artists and volunteers participate. The festive protocol, agreed upon with the associative fabric, preserves the common acts that give continuity to the festival.

The large influx forces celebration and neighbourhood rest to be made compatible. Access, music schedules, mobility measures and recommendations are specified in the official information of each edition.

Sources

• District of Gràcia: date, neighbourhood dimension and tradition of the Fiesta Mayor.
• Barcelona City Council: acts of the Gràcia festive protocol.
• Festive Protocol of Vila de Gràcia: origin and history of the garnishes.
• Fundació Festa Major de Gràcia: festival ritual.