These are the key dates to watch out for when you’re visiting l’Escala.
Festa Major
The tourist season may ending, but the locals gear up for the local Festa Major on 2nd September. The festival is held on the day of Santa Maxima, the town’s main patron saint.
There are several days of celebration on and around this date, depending which day of the week it falls. The day is a public holiday in l’Escala and so many shops close for the day.
Salt Festival
Unloading bags of salt during the annual Festival of Salt. Photo by Albert Torelló.
Celebrating the town’s link with anchovies and their preservation, l’Escala’s Salt Festival is held every year on the third Saturday of September. The festival includes demonstrations of traditional skills, presentations, poetry, music and traditional Catalan dances.
Anchovy Festival
The Anchovy festival takes place at the end of September or beginning of October, after the salt festival. It includes the Ruta de la Tapa de l’Anxova – anchovy tapa trail – when you can sample various tapas made using the local produce. While all this is going on a band plays Havaneres, a style of made popular by sailors returning from Cuba at the end of nineteenth century.
