Festival and Events on Mallorca

Mallorca knows how to celebrate and Mallorcans are not afraid to throw their fair share of parties. When it comes to religious festivals and cultural occasions or other kinds of special days, Mallorca certainly steps up its game. Here, scroll through the best of what's out there.

January the 5th: Reyos Magos - Mallorca's Christmas

The Spanish celebrate the three wise men a little differently to the English. They dedicate a whole day to them and according to tradition the three kings give Christmas presents out on the 5th of January. A carnival goes through town with people coming in their thousands to watch the floats and see the kings of course! The carnival goes all through the town with marching bands, people dressed up and sweets and other goodies being thrown out to the crowds. Palma is not the only place that the parades take place, the carnival goes through Alcudia, Sóller and Andratx.

January the 20th: San Sebastian - Palma celebrates its patron saint

San Sebastian is another party that goes on in Palma in January. The whole of Palma goes into a small state of pandemonium and people really paint the town red. Live concerts go on in Plaza de España and Jaume Tercera and people come out to toast a caña with their mates and bust some moves to the live music. Everyone brings their own throw-away BBQ's and grabs a spot in the main square in Palma and chucks the burgers on the barbie. It's the only night of the year where it's okay to do that. As well as the 20th, there are other celebrations happening the few days before as a buildup.

Mid-February: Carnival - big parades through Palma

In the middle of February there is are carnival floats on both the Saturday and the Sunday in Palma. The children's parade is held on the Saturday and goes by the name of Sa Rueta and the one for the grown-ups takes place on Sunday. There are mini versions carried out all over the island, but Palma is definitely where the most action happens.

From the beginning of March to the middle of April: Fira del Ram - Mallorca's fairground

With more than 170 stalls and 70 rides, the Fira del Ram fair is a crowd favourite with kids and adults alike. The fair is set up every year and stays there from the beginning of March to the middle of April close to the Son Fusteret industrial estate in Palma. The best way to get there is by hopping on bus number 10 from Plaza de España.

Easter in Mallorca

Easter is a big deal in Mallorca and people go mad for all the religious festivities going on. People and pilgrims come from all over to see the pretty processions and take a look at the traditions from the island. Semana Santa kicks off on the Sunday before Easter (also known as Palm Sunday) with parties, parades and the like going on all week long. People get dressed up and pull out all the stops for this special time of year. Thursday is the day to keep an eye on in Palma where they have the Crist de la Sang procession. Medieval costumes are donned, and massive statues of saints are paraded through the streets of Mallorca's capital. Watch out for the passion play performed in front of the Cathedral La Seu in Palma on Good Friday and make your way to see the crucifixion procession after either in Palma or one of the other smaller towns.

May the 11th: Sóller's victory over the Moors

Christian victory over the Moors is celebrated and remembered in many places throughout the year but May is when the majority of it goes on. Sóller is a decent spot to head to, to check out what's what around the 11th of May. The reenactment of the battle at the Port de Sóller, locals dress up to commemorate the historic event and fight each other in the cold heart of day.

Mid to end of June: Festes del Rei en Jaume - Santa Ponsa celebrates recapture

They celebrate the island being taken back by Jaime I with a fantastic party every June in Santa Ponsa. The party is made up of all kinds including concerts, exhibitions, markets, parades and dancing. The battles of 1229 are reenacted by the locals as well. They come by boat into Santa Ponsa's Bay and conquer the island with swords at the ready. The march starts from the La Creu Monument near the Club Nautic and finishes off at the beach.

June the 23rd: Sant Juan - bathing on St. John's night

On the night of Sant Juan, locals meet on the beach and light barbeques and bonfires and then go for a swim. This is how they celebrate their patron year in, year out on the night before his name day. It's not uncommon for people to set off fireworks either. The best way to see what's on is to make your way along to one of the big beaches near your hotel and toast a glass whilst chomping on some food off the barbie whilst bumping along to the beats.

July the 16th: Fira del Carme - March by the sea

July 16th is the day of the patron saint of fishermen and sailors, better known as Fira del Carme. In other places it is known as Virgen del Carmen or Estrella del Mar / the star of the seas. On this day, a trip to the coast is worth it: in many of the seaside towns in Mallorca, fishermen and sailors decorate a statue of their patron saints and bring them along to the celebrations. There's a procession which heads along to a decorated boat in the harbour and in many places this continues on water which goes hand in hand with folk dances, markets and fireworks.

August the 2nd: Pollensa's victory over the pirates

As in with many other places on the island, Pollensa also celebrates the victory over the Moorish pirates only they do it in summer instead. On the 2nd of August everyone chucks on their costumes and dons their best battle faces before recreating the victory over the invaders that took place in 1550.

August the 15th: Fiesta Mare de Déu - Can Picafort Duck chase

A special feature of the Fiesta Mare de Déu in Can Picafort is the traditional duck ceremony. Before 2005, live ducks were thrown to the swimmers in the sea from a boat but nowadays they use rubber ducks instead. The winner was the swimmer who was the first to get to the beach with a living duck. Animal protectionists put a stop to the cruelty to animals and so these days it's fun and no one gets hurt.

August the 28th: Festa de's Cavall - Ses Saline's Horse Festival

In Ses Salines, more than 3,000 people attend the Festa de's Cavall on the 28th of August every year. This festival has a lot to do with a similar festival that takes place in Menorca and has been replicated in Mallorca.

First weekend in September: Fira del Meló - Vilafranca de Bonany's Melon Festival

On the first weekend of September, everything revolves around melons in Vilafranca de Bonany. Go along and visit the Melon Festival to get the chance to try all kinds of yummy lovsl good and feast your eyes on the competitions. Melon weighing is a right crack, the heaviest one wins of course, and they can weigh anything up to 18 kilos.

Third Saturday in September: Festa des Vermar - Binissalem's grape battle

Binissalem is best known for its wine but as the harvest season draws to a close, they host a party and people come from all over the island to try out the wine and check out the carnival floats. The grape stepping and grape battle are definitely the best of what's going on there and quite funny at the same time. You'd definitely be better off bringing along a change of clothes and wearing something you don't mind getting a bit dirty.

Second Thursday in November: Dijous Bo - Inca's autumn market

The autumn market in Inca is on the second Thursday of November. The Dijous Bo is a mixture of ecological bits and bobs, market stalls and a funfair. As many as 200,000 people can be found floating around in the middle of Inca. The main focus is on local products such as Mallorcan wines, olive oil, honey and sea salt. As well as that, handmade craft knickknacks like hand-blown glass, leather goods and natural products will be on sale and on display. There is also a medieval market where you can check out all kinds of artefacts. We advise you to hop on a train and avoid the chaos of trying to find somewhere to park.