The Cunning Canary

The Carnival Queen Gala takes place on February 12th in Las Palmas and this is part of the Las Palmas Carnival 2010. Expect to see some truly wild costumes including glitter, sparkles, feathers and skyscraper heels… and that’s just the drag queens! The Las Palmas Carnival, also spelled Las Palmas Carnaval, is going to be [...]

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St Joseph’s Day in Gran Canaria falls on March 19th and it is the feast day of Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary. Since Canarians are Catholic (most of them!) this is an important holiday, not least because the Canarians celebrate Fathers’ Day on St Joseph’s Day, or San José as they call it. [...]

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As a nation of Catholics, the Spanish and Canarians celebrate Easter. Holy Thursday falls on April 1st in 2010, the day before Good Friday. The whole week is called Holy Week or “Semana Santa” in Spanish and you will see various processions in the streets. Bookmark It Hide Sites

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Most people think of Australia as opposed to Gran Canaria when they think of aborigines but April 29th is Aborigines’ day in the Canary Islands. This festival celebrates the Guanches uprising against the Spanish and when the Crown of Castile annexed Gran Canaria in 1483. Expect music and dancing in some of the smaller Gran [...]

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The cheese festival in Gran Canaria takes place in Santa Maria de Guia each year, at the end of spring. This little town used to be part of Galdar but the two are now separate towns, situated about 23 miles from Las Palmas. You can get a bus there. You have to get two buses [...]

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Epiphany falls on January 5th every year in the Canary Islands. This is the day before King’s Day which is when the Canarian children get their Christmas presents. The streets will be decorated with lights and Christmas decorations and there is a Three Kings Procession. This fiesta is very much oriented towards the children. Bookmark [...]

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Labour day is known as “fiesta del trabajo” in Gran Canaria and all over Spain. This is a public holiday so expect everything except the tourist shops, bars and restaurants to be closed. Labour day falls on May 1st, which is May Day in other countries. Apart from shops being closed, there isn’t a lot [...]

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As you might now, I work in the harbour, Puerto Escala, selling fishing trips. Christmas and New Year is the busiest period of the entire year, apart from July to September (the summer season). However… new year’s day is the most boring day to work in the harbour. As you might expect there is NOBODY [...]

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This fiesta falls on August 15th and it is a national holiday all over Spain and the Canary Islands. Most business close, apart from the tourist shops, restaurants and bars. This is a Christian festival and it was introduced in 847AD by Pope Leo IV to celebrate the anniversary of Mary ascending up to heaven. [...]

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The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, or La Inmaculada Conceptión as it is known in Spanish, is a bank holiday which falls on December 8th every year. This public holiday marks the start of the Christmas celebrations and it is celebrated all over Spain, as well as the Canary Islands. Commercially speaking, Christmas starts in [...]

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