Nine authentic Spanish food festivals you have to visit at least once

Spain is well known and loved for its gastronomy, which at its heart is simple, displaying traditional ingredients and fresh produce, without a lot of additions and alterations.

As a result, the country loves to celebrate its traditional produce with many different food festivals and fairs. Typically these festivals are held in the town or region where the product is grown or made, meaning lots of traditional culture thrown in too.

Fiestas de la Aceituna, Martos

Held in the Jaén town of Martos in Andalusia, this is a celebration of the humble olive – eaten in all regions of the country and one of the key ingredients in almost any Spanish dish. The festival begins around mid-November, marking the official start of the olive harvest season and aims to pay tribute to the olive growers and pickers. It comprises visits to centuries-old olive groves and olive oil tastings, markets and exhibitions. The festivities culminate on December 8th with the extraction of the first olive oil of the year using a manual press.

Gran Festa de la Calçotada de Valls

The small town of Valls in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia is the capital of the calçot – a local vegetable is which like a cross between a leek and a sweet spring onion. Catalans go crazy over them in the winter months, holding special calçot barbecues called calçotadas, either in private gardens or rural restaurants. The festival is held around the end of January and begins with the traditional barbecuing of the calçots over hot coals. There’s also a calçot food market, calçot eating competitions, a giant dancing calçot and a contest between local farmers to see who has grown the best bunch of the season. At lunchtime the whole town gathers for a calçotada menu of calçots dipped in romesco sauce (made from red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, olive oil and garlic), bread with tomato, lots of grilled meats and red wine.

Festa do Pulpo de O Carballiño

Galicia’s famous Octopus festival is held in the province of Ourense in the town of O Carballiño. Octopus or pulpo is Galicia’s most famous dish, so it goes without saying that there had to be a festival to celebrate it. It’s held on the second Sunday of August and has been running for over 50 years. During the event there are gastronomic events such as cooking demonstrations and tastings, as well as traditional folkloric music and dancing.

Fiesta de la Sidra, Gijón

Cider or sidra production, pouring and drinking is a big part of culture in Asturias and you can see it all at the Cider Festival in the coastal city of Gijón each year during the end of August. The festivities begin with the Cider and Apple Market selling various products related to the drink. There are of course tasting sessions, as well as an escanciado (cider pouring) competition to crown the best of the year. Cider pouring is a complicated art form, in which the drink must be poured from a great height down into a thin glass to create a slight fizz and bubbles. Awards are also presented to the best cider producers of the season.

READ ALSO: Why do they pour cider like that in Spain's Asturias?

Fiestas de San Mateo, Logroño

The San Mateo festival began as a way of celebrating the Riojan capital of Logroño and its grape harvest and today is one of the premier wine festivals in the country. It is held towards the end of September during grape harvest season and includes ancient traditions such as grape stomping. There’s also a parade of floats depicting various parts of the wine making process, music dancing and sports competitions. It also coincides with the Logroño Gastronomic Week.

Fiesta del Marisco, O Grove

Seafood is one of the most important ingredients in many traditional Spanish dishes, and much of the best comes from northern Spain. Not only is Galicia the capital of the octopus, but it also celebrates seafood of all kinds. The O Grove Seafood Festival is one of the best festivals of its type in the country and is held each October on the peninsula of O Grove in western Galicia. Along with tents filled with all different types of seafood to try and cooking demonstrations, there’s music, traditional dance, competitions and sporting events.

Feria del queso de Trujillo

At the beginning of May each year, the Extremaduran town of Trujillo becomes the centre of Spanish cheese at this grand fair. More than 80 cheese producers from all over the country gather in Trujillio for the event, showcasing around 100 varieties of Spanish cheeses. Of course there will be the chance to try as many as you can too.

Festa do Pemento de Herbón

Pimientos de Padrón can be found on almost any tapas menu across the country – small fried green peppers sprinkled with salt. As the name suggests, they originated in the Galician town of Padrón just southwest of Santiago de Compostela. Confusingly it’s actually the small village of Herbón, which is essentially an extension of Padrón, which holds the festival. The event begins with an outdoor mass, blessing the peppers and the event, an agricultural parade as far as Padrón, a flower offering to the statue of the 'Pementeira' (pepper grower) and prizes for the farmers who have grown the best that year. Music, dancing and tasting are also incorporated into the day. It takes place on the first Saturday in August.

Fira d'Espàrrecs de Gavà

This festival held around the end of April is dedicated to the fat white asparagus typical in Spanish salads and is hosted by the town of Gavà, just down the coast from Barcelona in Catalonia. As well as a farmers’ market selling the best asparagus products, local restaurants showcase their asparagus dishes and there are also cooking demonstrations. And it wouldn’t be a typical Catalan festival without some giants (gegants), human towers (castellers) and music thrown in.