Festivals on Tenerife – Festival de Candelaria

Another festival on Tenerife which has been taking place for some time is the Festival de Candelaria. It started on the 25th June and finishes on the 31st July (gives them time for a bit of a breather before their next huge fiesta mid August).

The festival on Tenerife’s east coast has attracted some major names in music world such as Bo Selecta - Craaaig Davies. This year’s big name, Rosana, may not ring any bells amongst many British residents and visitors, but the Lanzarote born songstress has sold more that 6 million albums around the world. Rosana’s concert closes the festival on the 31st July (10pm).

Between now and then there are also folklore concerts, processions and Hip-Hop competitions.

See Full Agenda Here (in Spanish)

Festivals on Tenerife - Sansofé 2010, Granadilla de Abona

We’re a bit late getting the Sansofé 2010 programme for Granadilla de Abona on Tenerife Matters as it started on the 1st on July.

However, as the sports events, concerts and exhibitions which form Sansofé continue until the end of August there's still loads to enjoy.

Highlights include Granadilla de Abona’s new talent competition on the 13th, 14th and 15th august (El Médano), the folklore concerts from 16th to the 22nd August (El Médano), the Kite Boarding World championship between the 9th and 14th August (El Médano) and the closing concert with K-narias at 9pm on the 28th August.

See Here for Full Programme of Events (in Spanish)

Festivals on Tenerife – Eólica 2010

Like a number of other popular festivals on Tenerife, the Eólica Festival which won a ‘Greener Festival’ award last year, is the latest victim of the crisis affecting Spain at the moment. There won’t be a festival this year.

The good news is that the concert will return in July 2011.

Music Festivals on Tenerife – Heineken Canarias Jazz & Más 2010

If you're of the school that thinks Jazz is cool, then July is the time to visit the island of eternal springtime (some places must have seriously hot springtimes). The Heineken Canarias Jazz & Más festival lasts from the 8 - 18th July and there are ten concerts on Tenerife between those dates.

9 July, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Plaza del Auditorio, 10pm,free entrance
CÉU
FUNKFARRIA

10 July 2010, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Plaza del Auditorio, 10pm, free entrance
FRANK GAMBALE G-FORCE BAND
THREE

12 July 2010, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife, 9pm, tickets €25
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER TO BILLIE HOLIDAY WITH LOVE: A Celebration of 'Lady Day'

13 July, Santa Cruz de Tenerife,Auditorio de Tenerife, 9pm, tickets €10
MIGUEL ZENÓN QUARTE,
ARI HOENIG TRIO

14 July, Puerto de La Cruz, Plaza Europa, 9pm, free entrance
African Night with ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO & YUL BALLESTEROS QUARTET

15 July, Puerto de La Cruz, Plaza Europa, 9pm, free entrance
JACQUES SCHWARZ BART QUARTET
JOSE ALBERTO MEDINA - J.A.M. TRIO

16  July, Puerto de La Cruz, Plaza Europa, 9pm, free entrance
GERALD TOTO
CHRISTIAN SCOTT QUINTET

17 July, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife, 9pm, tickets €20
GONZALO RUBALCABA QUINTET

18 July, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife, 9pm, tickets €25
MARCUS MILLER TUTU REVISITED

Buy Tickets For Canarias Jazz & Más 2010 Here

Festivals on Tenerife – Santa Blues 2010

Great news for blues fans on Tenerife, it looks as though the Santa Blues festival in Santa Cruz is going ahead this year.
I don't know where Colin Kirby found the information for Tenerife Magazine as I've been scouring cyberworld for weeks looking for the merest mention of one of my favourite festivals of the year, but I'm cock-a-hoop that he did.

The festival seems to chop and change its format on a yearly basis; this year will be held over three consecutive nights between 24th & 26th June. As the San Juan celebrations take place on the 24th June, it promises to be one of the best weeks of the year on Tenerife.

Festival Details

24th June – American blues guitarist and singer, Larry McCray headlines with support acts from  Rojas Blues Band and Esther Ovejero.

25th June - American blues songstress Sandra Hall headlines with The Johnny Perez Trio as support act.

26th June – American swamp blues guitarist and singer Kenny Neal headlines on the final night of the festival with The Tina Rioro Quartet supporting.

Hot blues on sultry summer nights – my idea of festival heaven.

The music kicks off at 9pm each night and the whole shebang is free.

Festivals on Tenerife – Ritmos del Mundo, Costa Adeje

When does spring end and summer begin? 20th June according to the Ritmos del Mundo poster. This year the all day DJ fest relocates to a little piece of Thailand where you don't have to worry about getting whacked by riot police, in other words Siam Park in Costa Adeje.

It's a perfect venue to bump, grind and shake those booties as Erick Morillo, Real El Canario and a whole host of other DJs bring the sounds of summer to Tenerife.

Tickets: From €26 Buy Your Ticket Here

Carnaval on Tenerife - La Laguna, La Orotava, Los Cristianos & Los Gigantes

Although the Carnaval spotlight tends to fall on Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz, towns all over Tenerife hold Carnavals. Although in some places you’d never know it. La Laguna has just launched a new tourist website and guess what… no mention of their carnaval. The British Guild of Travel Writers who have just held their AGM on the island would be amazed at the number of ‘tricks missed’ when it comes to promoting events on the island. But gripes aside here are the dates for some other carnavals (I’ll add more if I manage to wheedle them out of an informant up a dark back alley – you think I’m joking?)

La Laguna – The theme is ‘rumoured’ to be Triton, King of the Seas and it will take place from the 13th to the 20th February.

Los Gigantes, Santiago del Teide – Another official ayuntamiento website which has overlooked including its carnaval details despite having main tourist resorts in their municipality. However the carnaval is due to take place in Los Gigantes between 26th February and 1st March.

Los Cristianos, Arona – Hat’s off to Arona Ayuntamiento who have included a full list of events on their website (the Spanish version anyway)

The theme is Viva Mexico and carnaval takes place between the 5th (election of the carnaval queen at 20.00 in the cultural centre) and 14th March 2010 (closing parade at 17.00). There are also open air dances on 13th and 14th as well.

La Orotava – God bless La Orotava. Tenerife’s classiest town knows that a website isn’t just for posting a smug looking photo of the mayor’s boat race (that’s ‘face’ - for anyone out there not au fait with Cockney rhyming slang).

With a Circus theme and a gorgeous poster, La Orotava’s carnaval runs from 13th February until 20th February. The highlights are the closing parade (from 16.30 on 16th February), the funeral procession and burning of…no not a giant sardine this time…St Crispin -don’t know what he did to upset the good people of La Orotava (21.00 on 17th February) and the end of carnaval dance (23.00 on the 20th February).

And don't forget to check out our Real Tenerife Carnaval page for tips on how to get the best out of carnaval

Events on Tenerife – 12th Adeje Theatre and Dance Festival

For anyone who thinks that the south of Tenerife is all English breakfasts and beer at a euro a pint, here’s the chance to discover otherwise with some excellent contemporary dance and theatre taking place in Adeje during November.

Perormances
Saturday, 31st October,  19:30,  - Garoé, Plaza César Manrique, Adeje
Friday 6th November, 21:00, - Impresiones, Cultural Centre, Adeje
Friday 13th November, 21:00, - Luz más luz, Cultural Centre Adeje
Friday 20th November, 21:00, - La Loca de la casa, Cultural Centre Adeje
Friday 27th November, 21:00, - El Sexo Sentido, Cultural Centre Adeje

Tickets are available from the Cultural Centre in Adeje and cost €6

Of course, there are those that are bound to say, ‘stuff that, I’d rather have the English breakfasts and pints of beer at a euro?”

Festivals on Tenerife – 14 Festival MasDanza

It’s dance yourself dizzy time on Tenerife, or at very least it’s watch participants from all over the World dance themselves dizzy at the 14th MasDanza Festival in Santa Cruz.

Over the course of two days, dancers from Japan, China, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Portugal and Macedonia are set to whirl, twirl and perform moves that’ll make your eyes water at The Auditorio de Tenerife and the Teatro Victoria.

Dates: 25th and 26th October

Location: Auditorio de Tenerife, Santa Cruz (25th) & Teatro Victoria, Santa Cruz (26th)

Times: 19.30 (25th), 21.00 (26th)

Events on Tenerife – The International Clownbaret Festival, Santa Cruz

Clowns… people either love ‘em, hate ‘em, or are scared witless by them which makes Santa Cruz the place to be, or to avoid like the plague next weekend when the streets are filled with these strange creatures as part of the international Clownbaret Festival; an open air showcase for contemporary clowns.

The festival kicks off on Thursday the 15th when there’s a screening of a Charlie Chaplin movie (not a good start) before packs of the painted face ones take to the streets (mainly Plaza del Principe and Plaza Isla de la de Madera) trying their utmost to make adults and children laugh, and no doubt scaring the beejesus out of some in the process.

Personal prejudices aside, it should be quite good and surrealistic fun in the capital during the festival. I might even go and see what’s going on, but if you see someone running through the capital’s streets waving their arms in the air and gurning and screaming, it might not be a clown, it might be me having rediscovered childhood phobias at the sight of too many grotesquely painted clown faces in the one place.

Dates: From 15th October to 18th October

Times: Street performances take place from 17.30 to 22.30 on Friday 16th; 11.00 to 22.30 on Saturday 17th and from 11.00 to 17.00 on Sunday 18th.

See here for full details

Festivals on Tenerife – VII 50s Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival on Tenerife

The other week it was neo hippies and bikers, now it’s the turn of the rockabilly rebels.
Girls, pin up your hair and squeeze into a figure hugging wiggle dress, or a sultry halter neck heartbreaker’s frock and guys – just think Jimmy Dean.

For three days over the weekend, Los Realejos is set to swing to the best rockabilly sounds at the 7th 50s Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival in the Panoramica Gardens Hotel.

With bands and DJs from Tenerife (Los Contratiempos, Little Big Rebel, Billy Loy & Ballbreakers, Neón Boggie), Madrid (Tano 47, Rey Luy), Valencia (Rubén Gordon), Malaga (The Beerbellys), La Palma (Los Tihuya Cats) and the UK (Big Vinnie), it looks like a rocking good time is all but guaranteed.

Dates: 9th to 11th October

Time: Starts 21.00 on the Friday; from Midday on Saturday and at 09.00 (do rockers really get up that early?) on Sunday.

Tickets: €10 in advance, €12 on the door (tickets available from the hotel).

Fiestas on Tenerife – Fiestas Patronales de Adeje (Virgen de La Encarnación)

If you can’t take Mohammed to the mountain…

The resort of Costa Adeje isn’t particularly a stronghold of Canarian culture, but visitors should be able to get a taste of the real Tenerife without having to stray too far from their sun beds during October when Adeje holds its Fiestas in honour of the Virgen de La Encarnación. Admittedly most of the events take place in the old town, but some make their way to the coast including the ‘sortija de caballos’ on Saturday 17th October when local horsemen ride their steeds into the sea next to the municipal swimming pool at around 16.00.
Other events include parades, a romería, concerts, firework displays and open air dances (all in Adeje town).

Dates: 3rd to 18th October

Highlights:
10th – A full programme of events, the highlight being the parade in Calle Grande at 21.00 followed by a verbena (that's Spanish for party with music & wine) at 23.00.
17th – Day of Traditions and Folklore. The Sortija de Caballeros at 16.00 is followed by a folklore concert and another ‘verbena’ at the recinto ferial in adeje from 21.00.

See Full Agenda Here.

Festivals on Tenerife – Perrada Fest ’09, El Sauzal

The end of September/ beginning of October sees the emergence of some great little fringe festivals. This one is for the true fiesta die-hards as it takes place at Ravelo (where?) in El Sauzal.

Organised by ADEPAC (Association for the Defence and Protection of Animals in the Canaries) it’s a festival with a very good cause as its raison d’être and all proceeds will go to helping animals.

The fun kicks off at 13.00 and the event includes sets from 12 bands as well as theatre and dance performaces.

Date: Saturday, 3rd October

Tickets: €10

Festivals on Tenerife – 7 Rockas Festival, La Laguna

An eclectic mix of activities awaits anyone who heads into La Laguna this Saturday. The ‘7 Rockas Festival’ is classed as a showcase for rock in its purest state (I’m guessing that you could probably replace ‘pure’ with ‘raw’ here); however, festival events also include master classes in drumming and guitar playing during the morning.

These are followed in the afternoon by air guitar (the one musical instrument that I can actually play), guitar hero, ‘juego de palo’ (traditional stick fighting – your guess is as good as mine about what that has to do with rock music), and rock hairdressers (if these are the same as the ones I’ve seen at Mueca in Puerto de la Cruz, they’re worth going to see just on their own).

The evening sees the real rocky part of the festival get underway with sets from the best rock bands from across the Canarian Archipeligo.
Bands include: Machango (La Palma), Blackened (Lanzarote), Cuerno Cabra & Alea Jacta (Fuerteventura) and Histeria, Nadien and Guerilla Urbana (Tenerife).

Wait a minute, there are some islands missing. I can understand there not being a band from San Borondón (nobody knows how to get in touch with them there), but what about Gran Canaria, La Gomera and El Hierro? Maybe they should rename it '5 Rockas Festival'.

Date: Saturday, 3rd October

Location: IES, Viera y Clavijo, La Laguna

Festivals on Tenerife – Campus Rock, La Laguna

And the beat goes on at Campus Rock La Laguna, the former capital of Tenerife and probably the current musical capital of the island. It might not be the best rock festival in the world, but with Heineken sponsoring, it’s probably the best on Tenerife… that weekend anyway.

Bands playing include el canto del loco, Taxi, Nena Daconte and Sidonie.

Tickets: €20 in advance, €24 on the door. (See here for ticket outlets)

Festivals on Tenerife: The Festival of the Whale – Boreal in Los Silos

This is a new festival where I can honestly say where you’ll have a whale of a time – given that it takes place beside the huge skeleton of a whale on the coast at Los Silos.

The festival is only in its 2nd year and is a fusion of art, music and environmental awareness in the one package – so you get to party, be pretentious and learn something all in the same afternoon.

It all takes place on Saturday 26th September and between midday and 18.00 there are all sorts of exhibitions and workshops for adults and kids which range from kite-making, salsa classes and paragliding displays. At 12.30 turtles will be released into the sea. Between midday and 22.00 there’s an eco-market (good opportunity to pick up some unusual Xmas pressies) and providing the musical soundtrack for the shindig throughout the day and into the early hours are 10 bands and DJs with sounds ranging from dub-reggie to batucada to electronic house.

 Sounds all good stuff.

Festivals on Tenerife – CATH 2009

The name of this festival might not capture the imagination, but that’s because it stands for ‘Canaries at the Hotel’… err, okay I’m guessing your imagination is still completely under whelmed, but stick with me.

CATH 2009 takes place over the 11th and 12th September and is a bohemian two day (and night) festival of art, music and dance taking place in one of the north’s lesser known entertainment hotspots (lesser known to most visitors and anyone unfamiliar with the north that is), the Panorámica Garden Hotel in Los Realejos.

It includes two concerts featuring more than 10 bands, 4 DJ zones, experimental art exhibition rooms, dance performances and contemporary magic shows. It is a jam packed weekend of events and finishes at 6.30 on the 12th September with a ‘Chill Out’ session in the swimming pools (only for people staying at the hotel) and at that time of the morning I’m willing to bet that the ’Chill Out’ will be a literal one.

There are a number of ticket options (a two day ‘bono’ costs €45 on the door, €40 if purchased beforehand), but the coolest, rock ‘n’ roll way to do it must be to take a package staying at the hotel for the two nights of the festival for €120 per person.

This is an event which will suit seriously COOL people

See Full details of CATH 2009 here (in Spanish only)

Festivals on Tenerife – Tenerife Touring Ride: Moto Rock

Don’t you just love this poster? I mean, how many 15 year old boys’ fantasies can you get in the one image?

The unlikely tranquil and picturesque setting of Garachico is going to be home to a biker and rock music festival for a few days this month as Moto Rock comes to town.

During the days, the bikers will take to Tenerife’s roads for a sort of ‘angeles del infierno’ on tour before returning to Garachico for the ‘rock’ part of the festival on the nights of Friday 25th and Saturday 26th September.

Bands playing include Warners, Line, Marvel Hill & Hot Vulcan Stompers on the Friday and 13 Motos and Comsat, The Mistake, Brutalizzed Kids & Los Contratiempos on the Saturday night.

The music is free, but a weekend’s package for any bikers wanting to sign up for the whole festival including all meals and hotel accommodation, costs from €150 (see website for more detail – in Spanish only)

Can Moto Rock’s four days of biker action and hard rock live up to the promise of the poster? It’s tempting to go along to find out even if I might have to paint a skull and crossbones on the bonnet of the punto so that it won’t feel too out of place amongst the ‘wild hogs’.

Dates: The Festival takes place from 24th to 27th September.

Fiestas on Tenerife - The Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo, La Laguna

There are too many events taking place as part of The Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo in La Laguna to list. Apart from the usual processions, there are classical concerts, the famous annual Sabandeño performance, comedy nights, musicals, galas, flower battles in the streets, art exhibitions, parades, firework displays, Dance Festivals (including a homage to Michael Jackson), rock concerts, pop concerts and a folk concert with the lovely Alba Pérez and as they say, much, much more.

I’m guessing that not a lot of work is going to get done in La Laguna during September.

Highlights

5th September – XXXI Sabadeño Festival, Plaza del Cristo, 21.30

12th September – Battle of the Flowers, Around the old city streets, 18.00

13th September – La Pandorga Cabalgata, traditional parade from Iglesia de la Concepción, 20.00

14th September – Main Firework display with fireworks from 3 factories followed by a dance, Plaza del Cristo, Midnight.

15th September – Dance Festival featuring Sleeping Beauty and a homage to Michael Jackson, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

16th September – Rock Festival with La Vieja Morla, Oi Se Arma and Perro Cruz, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

17th September – Folk Festival with Alba Pérez, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

19th September – Pop Festival with La Sonrisa de Julia, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

25th September – Heineken Campus Rock with El Canto del Loco, Taxi, Sidonie and Nena Daconte, 21.00

Festivals on Tenerife – Salpica, Buenavista del Norte.

Playa de las Mujeres is a great venue for the third Salpica festival in Buenavista del Norte.

Sounds like a good line up too, with heavy rockers, Soundchaser and Senegalese rap family Bou Bess amongst others. It’s just a bugger of a place to get to, especially for those who live in the south.

Date: Saturday 5th September

Time: From 16.00

Price: Free