PONTEVEDRA, 3 (EUROPEAN PRESS)
The 21st Feira Franca de Pontevedra brought together thousands of people in the monumental area of the city and in the surrounding streets to celebrate what the mayor, Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores, called a “total party” with the participation of companies, associations and citizens in gender. “It is a pilgrimage where people come to eat in the city, which is for all the residents of the entire region,” he added, of the influx of foreign visitors.
Dedicated on this occasion to the Lérez River, it is an edition marked by the return after a two-year break forced by the pandemic. In this sense, the councilor for festivals, Carme da Silva, assured that “there was a great desire” and the people “took to the streets excited to enjoy this party again”. Thus, she pointed out that 183 private tables were authorized to host lunches and dinners, not counting those in bars and restaurants.
“Without the direct participation of many people, both organized and free, it would be impossible to enjoy this long-awaited edition”, insisted the mayor.
Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores and Carme da Silva coincided in celebrating the good weather that accompanies the celebration of the Feira Franca. “The Lérez gives us a drink today and from tomorrow we will fill it with water again”, said the councilor about the absence of rain on this day. “We bought Santa Clara for something,” joked the mayor, alluding to the acquisition of the convent where it was traditional to donate eggs to predict that the festivities would be sunny.
Dressed in vintage clothing and accompanied by several members of the local government, the city councilor and party councilor attended the recreational parade of wine transport, responsible for the Recrziale de Xeve, Troula and Art Monium associations. Fernández Lores assured that, together with Christmas and the Feast of the Pilgrim, the Feira Franca has become one of the three dates “established as a reason to bring together the whole family and people who are out of town, in Galicia and in the State”.
“INCREDIBLE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY”
In addition, he referred to the “incredible economic activity” it generates throughout the year and the fact that “it positions Pontevedra as a city where such a party can be held” thanks to an “urban model that allows the streets to be filled with people.
On the great day of the Feira Franca, the historic center hosted numerous recreational and commercial activities, as well as dance, music and street performances: from the medieval market of Avenida Santa María and the food stalls of the Alameda, to the exhibition of trade in the squares Ferrería, Peirao and Pedreira, through falconry, fencing and archery demonstrations, and the medieval tournament in the San Roque bullring.
