Autumn gastronomic festivals. Spain is one of the countries in the world with the greatest number of gastronomic festivals. Now, with the arrival of autumn, a few are being held.
There is no better excuse than these celebrations, to plan a getaway or to plan a gastronomic route to our country, and thus enjoy our customs, traditions and our rich and varied cuisine, as these festivals are dedicated to the typical products of each Spanish region, revolve around a local product, and in many of them there are demonstrations of their harvesting and cultivation. In addition to organizing stands for tasting, the restaurants in the area offer gastronomic days to taste dishes with the product as the star ingredient. All this in a festive environment, with music and other activities for all ages.
As there are so many festivals that are celebrated, we will mention the most characteristic ones of this Autumn.
First of all, the numerous grape harvest or wine festivals throughout all the wine production areas of Spain, which we talk about in our blog: https://www.culinaryspain.com/2014/08/vendimia-2014/
Rice Harvest Festival- 9 SEPT.
On September 9, the first meeting of the first Rice Harvest Festival in the Port of Catarroja, just ten minutes from Valencia.
The event began with a boat ride on La Albufera. At mid-morning, attendees were able to enjoy a live cooking show by restaurateurs Ximo Sáez and Domingo Castells.
Undoubtedly, the most outstanding activity of the day was the demonstration of manual rice harvesting.
Rice cultivation in Valencia is now more than 1,200 years old. Now modern machinery saves a lot of work. The attendees had the opportunity to participate in the harvest and then proceeded to the threshing of the chaff. The public enjoyed the spectacle of seeing how the grain was threshed with animals to separate the grain from the straw. The next step was to dry it in the sun and store it.
Also, the collaborating restaurants were offering tastings of paella and baked rice at very popular prices, which delighted everyone present.
This is undoubtedly a day for rice lovers and those who want to learn about the tradition and its cultivation.
In addition, if you are a professional, you can participate in the INTERNATIONAL PAELLA CONTEST IN SWEDEN . It is the most important competition in the world
SEAFOOD FESTIVAL - OCTOBER 2nd to 12th
Since 1963, in the month of October, the “Festa do Marisco” in O Grove, municipality of the Rias Bajas in Galicia.
This gastronomic-cultural event highlights the basic pillars of the economy of this coastal town: tourism and fishing. Both together make it possible for this cultural promotion festival to go ahead.
The festival will be inaugurated on October 2 and on October 3 will begin the sale of seafood at the stands that will be set up for the occasion. Until the 12th, there will be live cooking demonstrations, musical and folkloric performances, cooking contests, gastronomic days, etc.
AZAFRAN FLOWER FESTIVAL- Last weekend of October.
Ninety percent of the saffron cultivation is carried out in Castilla-La Mancha, with a fame of 
of being one of the best in the world. This festival revolves around it, since its harvesting by hand, day by day, as its flowers open, as well as its drying, have created a gastronomic, historical and traditional culture, unique and exclusive to this land.
The National Folklore Festival, in which music groups and folkloric dances from all over Spain participate, is its highlight. But it also has various events, such as the traditional grinding of wheat in a windmill called Sancho, the contest of saffron monda, which rewards the speed in the extraction of the strands of the spice of flowers, or the gastronomic contest.
If you are interested in any of these celebrations we can organize for you a tailor-made getaway. You will enjoy our most deeply-rooted traditions, our local products and a variety of cultural and gastronomic activities that are both entertaining and fun.
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