Events & festivals, Murcia

Feria de Murcia When: Sep 2006 (annual) Where: Murcia , Spain Cost: Various (many events are free) Opening Hours: Various For the first two weeks of September, extraordinary merriments take place in respect of the city's patron saint, La Virgen de la Fuensanta. The city of Murcia comes alive with parades, pageants and tradition. Annually, there are bullfights, concerts, golf tournaments, competitions, video screenings, traditional games, dinners and plenty of parties. Smaller celebrations are integrated into the focal affair together with a pop festival, the Moors and Christians Festival, Feria Taurina and an International Mediterranean Folklore Festival. The Folklore Festival is one of the highlights and features groups from Spain and overseas performing in the plazas and cultural centers of the city. Different dance troupes in glittering costumes show off their steps. The atmosphere is simply brilliant. Aside from the variety provided by the programs of the individual fiestas, there are concerts, exhibitions, parades and sacred masses throughout the city. There is also a children's day with theater performances and other activities, including the cooking of a giant tortilla.