Festivals in Javea
Javea´s main festival - taking place take the last week of August and the first week of September in the port area – is one event of the year which shouldn´t be missed.
You can see Bous a la Mar (Bulls to the Sea) where a temporary stand is constructed in the port area with seats looking down on a small man-made "beach". Along one side of this sandy area is the stand for spectators and at the other side is the sea.
Around six bulls are in a secured paddock under the stand. A single firework goes off and the first bemused bull runs out into the open sandy area where local lads run around attracting its attention. Their aim is to bait it to attack them near the waterfront so that it will fall into the sea.
Usually the bull quickly works out the plan and runs along parallel to the water's edge showing its horns to the local lads who throw themselves into the sea over and over again. A new bull replaces the existing one after a while and the whole debacle starts again. Occasionally a bull does end up in the water and is rescued immediately.
Other events during Javea's festivals include Chess Championships, a basketball tournament, a table tennis competition and various tournaments of typical local sports. There´s special children days with a parade, games and free drinks and ice-cream for all the children and a senior citizen's day which involves a lot of music and dancing and free sangria. On various evenings there are large neighbourhood dinners where everybody brings there own food and enjoys the company of friends.
As in all "fiestas" in
Other festivals taking place before then is the Fogueres de San Joan during the last 2 weeks of June. This involves large papier-mache 'sculptures' - often of famous people in sport or current affairs. On the 24th June, the feast of
At the end of July Javea also celebrates Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) with mock battles and parades.
