- Fira de Borja: concerts of ancient music, guided tours, gastronomy and Arts&Crafts in Xàtiva
Játiva (or Xàtiva in Valencian) is a city in the province of Valencia that is well known for its castle and its beautiful old centre and is therefore worth a visit.
But in the long weekend from the 28th of October till the 1st of November it will be doubly interesting, because then the Fira de Borja will be held for the second time, a festival with concerts of music from the time of the Borgias, guided and dramatized tours of the old town, tastings and a special menu in local restaurants, and – this year for the first time – also an original Arts & Crafts Fair with workshops and craft demonstrations.
The councilor for tourism, Raquel Caballero, counts on Amata to organize the fair, because this association of artisans guarantees that the almost 40 artists and artisans who are going to participate will not only sell their own work, but in many cases they will also be working in the fair.
So you can see how glass is transformed into jewels or figures with a torch, how a shawl is woven on a loom or how musical instruments are made. Other artisans give demonstrations of enamelling, decorating tiles with the “socarrat” technique or making paper (Játiva was one of the first places where paper was made) and two potters will bring their wheel.
Arts and Crafts
There will be a wide choice of craft work: from beautiful horn combs to hand-woven scarves, from ceramics to handmade shoes and bags, wooden and soft toys, and jewelry in the most diverse materials: wood, ceramic, silver, macramé, enamel and even sea shells. And everything is hand made by the same people that are in the stalls.
For children there will be workshops, table games, puppet shows and storytelling and a merry-go-round, and on several days a versatile artist will walk on stilts, make jokes, juggle and do a fire show at night. The complete programme you will find at: https://www.puebloartesano.es/xativa.html.
The fair will be held from 28 October till 1 November in the old town near the Church of San Francisco (Sant Francesc Street) and will open on Friday from 5 till 10 in the afternoon; the other days opening times will be from 11 am to 10 pm.
