The festive events, which will last until September 10, will also include the Una Mar de Encanto and Mareas Vivas festivals, among other events.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM OF THE PINE FESTIVALS IN ARINAGA HERE
The Pino festivals will once again put the culmination of summer in Arinaga. The main coastal town in the Southeast of Gran Canaria, where around 10.000 people regularly live, increases its population considerably during these months, with the arrival of occasional visitors eager to enjoy the many attractions of this enclave. The influx will once again have its peak at the end of the summer season, with the celebration of the Pine Festival, which will take place between August 20 and September 10 with a wide program of recreational, sports and activities. cultural.
The first of these activities will take place this Sunday, starting at 08:00 in the morning. It will be the 24th edition of the Arinaga Raid, a fun sports event in pairs consisting of carrying out an orientation route with the only help of a map and a compass and the sole use of natural and non-motorized means of progression. On Thursday, August 24, there will be recreational water polo on the beach (La Planita area), special prices at the amusement fair located in the square and live music starting at 21:00 p.m. on Avenida Polizón, coinciding with the night of pinchos every Thursday in the summer.
Vará del Pescao
On Friday, August 25, the first highlight of the program will arrive, with the celebration of the Vará del Pescao. The 27th edition of this popular event, which evokes and honors Arinaga's seafaring past, will start at 18:00 p.m. on the access ramp to the sea located on Avenida de Los Pescadores, next to the aid station. An hour later, once the fish has been distributed among the different boats, the route of the seafaring pilgrimage will begin between Risco Verde and Los Barquillos. The party along the entire promenade will be enlivened by popular parties and the Island Band. At 23:00 p.m., at the Pier, there will be the long-awaited aquatic fireworks show, at the end of which the music will continue both on Avenida de Los Pescadores and in Plaza de Arinaga.
A Sea of Charm
After the big day of the Vará, the activities will continue in the last days of August with the traditional petanque tournament, the Argones folklore festival, the amusement fair, children's games in the square and music. On September 1 and 2, in Soco Negro, the 27th edition of the Una Mar de Encanto festival will take place, with four stellar concerts. Faneroque and Lúcia de Carvalho – artist from Reunion Island – will perform on Friday, September 1, while Hirahi Afonso and Los Coquillos will do the same on Saturday, September 2.
This same day, September 2, in the morning, the popular Arinaga swim crossing will take place on the beach, with nearly 400 athletes who will jump into the sea to complete one of the two established routes: the 3.000-meter one for the most experienced or the 1.500 for those who prefer shorter distances. On Sunday, September 3, a solidarity paella will be held to benefit Aldefa, the Association of Relatives and Friends of People with Alzheimer's and Related Dementia of the municipality of Agüimes.
Legends and Living Tides
The following week, the last of the holidays, the event will be triple. On Thursday the 7th there will be a festival in the square, with Ritmo Bakano, Armonía Show and Leyenda Joven. On Friday the 8th, also in the Plaza de Arinaga, there will be the show 'Leyendas', by Pedro Manuel Afonso, one of the current Canarian voices most loved by the general public. And on Saturday, September 9, the Mareas Vivas festival will be held on Avenida de Los Pescadores, designed by and for the young population: workshops, music and a craft market from 10:00 in the morning until late at night. The cherry on top of the festival will take place on the main stage in the Plaza de Arinaga, with performances by the groups Muelle Viejo and Los 600.
The last of the scheduled cultural activities will take place on Sunday, September 10 at the House of Culture. It will be a tribute to the writer and poet Carmen Rivero, author of the 'Hymno a la Vará'. The official festival program also pays homage inside to the recently deceased Rafael Estévez, one of the founders of the Vará del Pescao, the mainstay and soul of the festival for the last 27 years, who spread his enthusiasm for the Vará to several generations of neighbors, on whom he left an indelible mark of affection and vitality. Despite his absence, his popular boat – 'Los Barqueros' – will once again be one of the first to go out on the seafaring pilgrimage, this time with his grandchildren at the helm, blowing the bucio, distributing the fish and continuing the tradition, like him. always wanted.
