Sevilla Feria de Abril

Sevilla Feria de Abril Time: April 12 to April 17, 2016

Dating back to 1847, Feria de Abril originated from a fair for trading livestock. Later, it evolved into the best-known folk festival in Andalusia and even the whole Spain. According to folk tradition, the festival comes two weeks after Holy Week. Within one week from that, various arts and entertainment activities such as bullfight, carriage procession and Flamenco dancing are held all over city streets in Los Remedios District by the bank of Guadalquivir River of Sevilla.

Festival features:

1. Archways and tents

Each year, before the festival comes, people build a giant wooden archway inside which tents decorated with colorful lights are set up for people to celebrate the festival. People gather in tents of different sizes, singing, dancing, drinking mellow Manzanilla and tasting various local delicacies such as Boquerones fritos, La Paella and Prosciutto Crudo. (Some tents belong to local government, political parties, mass organizations, Chamber of Commerce or individual families, and others are accessible to the public at any time.)

2. Lanterns and colored flags

Streets are adorned with lanterns and colored flags. After the lighting ceremony is launched at the first night, the whole city is immersed in joy.

3. Characteristic long dresses of Spanish ladies

During the festival, all ladies are in shawls and Sevilla’s characteristic long dresses which originate from the nineteenth century and are personally tailored with brilliant cloth. The long dresses are sewed with one or two layers of frills and inlayed with lace. Meanwhile, the ladies use a big flower or a small comb as a headdress.

4. Carriage procession

An afternoon ride by carriage is also an old local tradition. As time passes by, more and more carriages appear on the streets and form an array. That’s how “carriage procession” comes.

Men ride high horses in the carriage procession. They wear felt hats with round edges, tight short coats, breeches and shiny boots, looking like traditional Spanish horsemen.