British Guild of Travel Writers 2010Annual General Meeting 26th to 29th January

Events &

Festivals 2010

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Tenerife is an enjoyable island throughout the year. Its busy calendar of

events offers all kinds of fiestas, for all tastes. No matter what time of the

year, Tenerife always welcomes visitors to enjoy year-round sunshine, an

average temperature of twenty three degrees centigrade and a plethora

of exciting festivals.

January

- 5thFestivalofArtsandCrafts

Artsandcraftsincludingpotteryanddecorativepiecesmadeofstone,woodor

leatheraredisplayedduringthisfestivalwhichtakesplacefrom2ndto5thJanuary

inSantaCruz.www.sctfe.es

- DayoftheThreeWiseMen

Ontheeveningofthe5thofJanuary,childreneagerlyawaitaparadeledbythe

ThreeWiseMen:Melchior,GasparandBalthazar,whichtakesplacealloverthe

island,butmostnotablyinSantaCruz.TheirMajestiestravelbyhelicopterand

after landingonafootball stadium,ridecamelsthroughthecitycentre,greet

spectatorsandhandoutsweetstochildren.DuringthisreligiousChristiantradition

localsre-enactthevisitpaidbytheKingsofOrienttoJesuswhenhewasborn.

February

- 16thCanaryIslandsInternationalMusicFestival

TheCanaryIslandsInternationalMusicFestivalistheonlyclassicalmusicfestival

held in winter in Europe. This year’s performances in Tenerife are being held

between8thJanuaryand7thFebruaryatthespectacularAuditoriodeTenerife,an

operahousedesignedbySantiagoCalatrava.www.festivaldecanarias.com

- TenerifeCarnival

OneofthemostpopularannualfestivalsinTenerifeisthevibrantCarnival,which

takesplacethroughouttheislandaweekpriortoLent.Thecapitalandlargest

cityofTenerife,SantaCruz,hostsoneofthelargestcarnivalsintheworldand

oneofEurope’slivelieststreetparties,declaredFestivalofInternationalTourist

Interest.Thismagnificentparade is so spectacular that it is said to rivalRio in

splendour,sizeandglamour.ThelargestcarnivalsinTenerifetakeplaceinSanta

Cruz,thecapital,followedbyPuertodelaCruz.Highlightsincludetheelection

ofthecarnivalqueen,contests,streetparadeswithlivemusicand“elEntierrode

laSardina” (sardine’s funeral),adramaticperformanceofpeople inmourning

who,dressedindarkclothing,weepandcryoutloadwhileahugepaperfishis

setalight.Thisyear’scarnivalwillbetakingplacefrom,22Januaryto21February.

www.carnavaltenerife.eswww.sctfe.es

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March

- 50Cent

OneofthemostpopularrapperswillbeheadingtoTenerifetohostoneofthe

mosteagerlyawaitedconcertsonthe island.The50Centperformancewillbe

tackingplaceinthecityofSantaCruzon27March.

april

- WhitneyHoustoninconcert

Tenerife is once again placing itself on the International Entertainments map.

WhitneyHoustonistoperformanopen-airconcertatCostaAdejeGolfCourseon

30April2010.TenerifeisproudtohosttheonlySpanishdateonherworldtour.

PreviousconcertsheldinTenerifeincludeEltonJohnandRodStewart.

- MUECA-InternationalFestivalofstreetartinPuertodelaCruz

Thebestperformers, jugglers,comedians,acrobatsandmusiciansfromallover

theworlddisplaytheirtalenteachyearduringthisfestival.Overthreedays,the

streetsofPuertodelaCruzarefilledwitheye-catchingindependentart.Since

theyear2000,thisholidaydestinationhasstrived,atleastonceayear,tobecome

thelargestopenairtheatreintheworld.Andithasbeensuccessful.Courageous

tightrope walkers cover long distances on a nearly invisible cable, there are

entertainingcomedians,performanceswithinnovativechoreographyandmusic

playedbywell-knowngroups–allcompletingaprogrammesuitableforalltastes

andaudiences.MUECAisoneofthemostpopularculturaleventsintheCanary

Islands.

May

- MinistryofSoundinTenerife

GearingupforthearrivalofMinistryofSound,Tenerifewillbehostingthelargest

electronicmusicpartyontheisland.Theexcitingpop-upclubwillbeheldatthe

Magmaconferencecentreon1stMay.

- InternationalParaglidingFestivalFLYPA

Thefourtheditionofthisexcitingsportsandentertainmenteventwilltakeplace

from 29 April to 03 May, in Los Realejos, set within the beautiful La Orotava

Valley. Someof themostprestigiousparagliders in theworld takepart in this

competition.Onthesameday,localsandvisitorscanenjoyanimpressivefireworks

displaythatlastsoverthreehours.www.flypa.eswww.ayto-realejos.es

- Dayofthecross

The3rdofMayisoneoftheliveliestdaysinSantaCruz.Followinganoldtradition

fromthetimeswhenthecitywasfounded,aroundfivecenturiesago,thecapital

iscarefullyadornedwithflowersneatlytiedtogetherbyresidentstoc r e a t e

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colourfulcrosses.Localsfromdifferentdistrictscompetetobeawardedthemost

beautiful cross.The festival continueswith folkmusicanddances.TheFestival

of theCross isalsocelebrated inotherboroughsroundthe island.Spectacular

fireworksdecoratetheskyaboveLosRealejos,whererivalgroupsfromthestreets

ElMedioandElSolcompeteagainsteachothertocoverthesky.Thisfestivalisa

truespringcelebrationashundredsofcolourfulflowersareweavedintocrosses

anddisplayedinhomes,chapelsandreligiousbuildingsinLosRealejosandPuerto

delaCruz.

June

- CorpusChristiTapestries

CorpusChristi isperhaps themost famousand inspiringof Tenerife’s religious

festivals.Vast,intricatecolouredcarpetsofflowerpetalsandvolcanicsandsare

laidoutinthestreetsfortheprocessionsoflocalpeopleanddignitaries,members

oftheIslandCabildo(Government),thequeenofthefestivalandthemunicipal

bandtopassover.Themostspectacularofthecarpetsismadewiththreetonnes

ofsandontheTownHallSquareandisacompositionofbiblicalscenes.Thisyear’s

CorpusChristiison10thJune.www.villadelaorotava.org

- NochedeSanJuan

At the beginning of summer, residents in Tenerife look forward to the most

magicalnightoftheyear,whichalsohappenstobetheshortest.Inalmostevery

districtontheisland,oldbitsofjunkandunusablefurnitureareusedtolightup

largebonfireson theeveofSan Juan.BeachesaroundTenerifebecomesocial

hubsandmanylocalsfollowthetraditionbyjumpingoverbonfiresthreetimes

inordertoreduceeviltoashessotheycanfacetherestoftheyearwithpositive

energy.Openair concertsandfireworkdisplaysareorganisedonPlayadeLas

Teresitas,inSantaCruzorPlayaJardín,inPuertodelaCruz.MeanwhileinIcodde

losVinos,“LosHachitos”,woodenbannersdecoratedwithflowersofuptotwo

orthreemetreslongarelitupandcarriedbylocalsduringaprocessionofseveral

kilometres.www.icoddelosvinos.com

July

- DayofthetraditionsofChirche

On the day of the Traditions of Chirche, a time machine takes visitors to the

littledistrictofChirche,inGuiadeIsora,wherepeoplere-enactthelivesofthe

Canariansfromoverhalfacenturyago.Oldhouses,whicharenowun-inhabited,

onthemainstreet,SanFelipe,areopentothepublicduringthefestivalsothat

visitorscanexploreeachofthehousesindetailtolearnhowtheinhabitantsin

Tenerifeusedtolive,howtheywoulddecoratetheirhomesandwherethefamilies

wouldmeetforlunchortochat.Visitorscanalsoseehowbreadwasmade,how

rooftilesweremadeorhowcerealswereprepared.Oneofthehighlightsisthe

re-creationoftheoldwash-house,wherewomenwouldmeetnotonlytowash

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clothes,buttocatchupandgossipaboutwhateverwashappeninginthevillage.

Tastingtypicalfoods,suchastruchaormistela,acoffeeliqueur,whichcanalsobe

boughtandtakenhome,completesaperfectday.

- RomeríadeSanBenitoAbad

SanBenitoAbadisafortunatesaintasthereligiousfestivalheldinhishonour

has been declared of National Interest to Tourism, thanks to the passion that

La Laguna’s inhabitants have put into the celebration of the event. People in

the countryside would worship San Benito Abad for protection of their land

and crops. Residents still worship this patron saint and every year, the district

attractsthousandsoflocalsandvisitorsforatourwhichstartsattheSanBenito

Abadchapelandcontinuesthroughthehistoricalcentreofthetown.Highlights

includetraditionalcostumes,floatspulledbygroupsofoxenandcows,groups

ofsingersanddancersandtraditionaldishessuchasCanarianwrinklypotatoes,

gofioandother localproducewhich isgenerouslyhandedouttoparticipants.

www.aytolalaguna.org

- TenerifeLadiesOpen

The 9th edition of this prestigious golf event will be taking place from 1st to

4thJulyat theBuenavistaGolfCourse inthenorthofTenerife.Morethan120

professionalfemaleplayerstookpartinlastyear’stournament.

- FiestasdelCarmeninPuertodelaCruzandotherboroughs

Thereisanimportantfishingtraditiononthecoastandithashadastrongimpact

onthelifestyleofresidentsinvillagessuchasPuertoSantiago,inthesouth,or

SantaCruzandPuntadelHidalgo,inthenorth.Severalfestivalsareheldtohonour

theVirgendelCarmen,patronsaintoffishermen.Themostimportantonetakes

placeinPuertodelaCruz,wherelocalscarryimagesoftheVirginandSaintElmo

duringaprocessionwhichstartsattheparishofNuestraSeñoradelaPeñade

Franciaandendsat thesmallfishingport,wheretheVirginstatue is carefully

takentoaboatbytheshoreandsailedalongthecoast.Thefiestacontinueswith

anamazingfireworkdisplay.

august

- RomeriadeSanRoque

Originatinginthe17thCentury,theRomeríadeSanRoqueisimmenselypopular

throughout Tenerife. The islanders flock to the route taken by the procession

alongwhich theSaint is carried. Whentheprocessionreaches itsdestination,

thefiestabegins.Atthesametime,thefishermenorganisetheirownfestivities

carryingtheimageofthesaintalongthevolcaniccoastlineofGarachico.

www.garachico.es

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- HeartsofTejina

Los Corazones de Tejina is an unusual festival starring three enormous hearts

madeofflowers,cakes,fruitandribbons,alegacyfromtheprehistoricislanders,

whousedpalmandflowerarchestodecoratetheirharvestfestivalcelebrations

inJulyandAugust.Acuriousblendofpaganandreligion,thefestivalofhearts

features song, dance and poetry and attracts visitors from all over the island.

Threevillagestreets-CalledeArriba,CalledeAbajoandElPico-competewith

eachothertryingtooutdotheotherwiththeirbeautifullydecoratedhearts.Each

heartstandardisbasedonareligiousorfolkthemeandfeaturestwoheartsand

abunchofflowersonthetopandisdecoratedwithcakescalled‘tortas’.

www.corazonesdetejina.com

- FiestasdeCandelaria

ThenightbeforethefestivityoftheVirginofCandelaria(thePatronSaintofthe

Canary Islands)pathsand roadson the Islandbecomea trail forpilgrimswho

walktothebasilicatopaytheirrespectstothevirgin.Differenteventsareheld

inCandelariaoverseveraldays.Oneofthemostpopularonestakesplaceona

beach,justbythebasilica.Residentsre-enacttheappearanceofthevirgintothe

Guanches,indigenousinhabitantsthatusedtoliveontheisland.

www.candelaria.es

OctOber

- TenerifeChampionsCupBeachVolley2010

This year’s international beach volleyball tournament will be held on Costa

Adeje.

- InternationalFestivalofShortFilmsandDocumentaries–Docusur

InternationalspecialistsandprofessionalswillbemeetinginTenerifeduringthe

lasttwoweeksofOctoberintheauditoriumofGuiadeIsora.Theprogrammeof

eventsincludesadisplayofshortfilmsproducedindevelopingcountries.

nOveMber

- FiestadeSanAndrés

DuringtheFiestadeSanAndresinIcoddelosVinos,oneofTenerife’soldesttowns

22kmwestofPuertodelaCruz,winecellarsopentheirdoorstoallowvisitors

tosamplethenewwines,servedalongsideroastchestnutsandsaltedfish.The

nametranslatesliterallyto‘PlaceofWine’andthisregionproducessomeofthe

bestwineontheisland.DuringthisfiestatheyoungpeopleofIcodslidedown

thesteepstreetsongreasedpinewoodboardsatbreakneckspeed,areminder

ofwhenthewinebarrelswererolledout.Eachfamilyopensupitscellarandthe

newwineistastedor‘baptised’amongfriendsandvisitorsalike.Isas,folíasand

malagueñas,thetraditionalfolksongsoftheisland,canbeheardfromallaround.

Thisyear,thefiestawillbeheldon29thNovember.www.icoddelosvinos.com

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DeceMber

- ChristmasConcert-OrquestraSinfónicadeTenerife

Everyyear,on25thDecember,theislandhostsaconcertbytheTenerifeOrchestra

Symphony.Thisyear’sconcertwillbeheldinthecityofSantaCruz.www.ost.es.

DuringtheChristmasseasonvisitorscanalsoenjoythestreetslitupwithdecorative

lighting, fireworks displays, musical events and a fun-packed programme of

activities.

-Ends-

TenerifeTourismCorporation

For more information visit www.webtenerife.com or contact Raquel Fonseca

Email:raquel@humewhitehead.co.ukTel:(0)2083347026