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Craft Fairs in Tenerife 2016

Traditional Tenerife crafts: hand-made baskets from the El Palmar valley.

Locals (and no doubt many visitors too) often spend summers following the various romerías and traditional fiestas around Tenerife; rally fans will follow those events around the island. Craft Fairs - many linked to local fiestas and are also annual events (especially the annual Los Reyes Craft Fair) - seem to be very popular, if the number of people visiting the posts about them is anything to go by. Los Silos that was part of the Fiestas of San Antonio Abad in January, has passed, but here are the places and dates of all the craft fairs in Tenerife in 2016 (including Los Reyes Crafts Fair 2017), so you can follow these too.

WHERE WHEN
Los Silos 17th January
Arafo 12th – 13th March
Icod de los Vinos 9th April
Santa Cruz de Tenerife May*

Alcalá
30th May
Santa Úrsula 30th May
Granadilla de Abona 4th – 5th June
Arguayo (Santiago del Teide) July*
Garachico 2nd – 3rd July
El Tanque 7th August
Vilaflor August*
Buenavista del Norte 21st August
Pinolere 2nd – 4th September
Guía de Isora 11th September
Arico 17th September
Tacoronte 25th September
La Matanza October*
Santa Úrsula 12th October
Adeje 14th – 15th October
La Victoria November*
Santa Cruz (Xmas & Los Reyes) 2nd – 5th January 2017

* Dates to be confirmed. (We'll post details as or if we get them.)

Listado de Ferias Municipales de Tenerife 2016

Tenerife Rally Calendar 2016

From the Palma Canaria Norte Rally in the El Palmar Valley

Rallies in Tenerife may not be strictly traditional, but they've certainly become an important tradition and Tenerife definitely does them differently than anywhere else. One of these days, no doubt, they'll spoil it by invoking the safety elf, but for now, they offer a wonderful opportunity to watch some thrilling, live motor-sport, free of charge, right by the side of the road, completely unhindered by barriers or anything silly like that. The dates for the 26th Adeje Rally, on the 18th, 19th & 20th March, are confirmed, but here is the rest of the rally programme for 2016:

Date Rallies Hill Climbs
19th March Adeje
5th March 2nd April [1] El Tanque
9th April CANCELLED
Las Mercedes
30th April CANCELLED
Valle Tabares
14th May Orvecame Norte
11th June Güímar
25th June Granadilla
30th July Guía de Isora
10th September Sprint Atogo
17th September [2] La Guancha
1st October Tamaimo
8th October Arona
15th October Isla Tenerife
26th November Arico

[1] The El Tanque Hillclimb, which was to have started the season on March 5th, has already been rescheduled for April 2nd, according to this report, which suggests that [2] the La Guancha Hillclimb could be postponed to November and there are likely to be route changes to the Orvecame Norte Rally in May.

Tenerife Carnival Dates for 2017

Carnival 2017 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Here are the predicted dates of the main events of carnivals in Tenerife in 2017.

Santa Cruz
  • Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017 - Election of the Carnaval Queen
  • Friday, February 24th, 2017 - Carnaval Opening Parade
  • Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 - Main Parade
  • Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 - Burial of the Sardine
  • Saturday, March 4th, 2017 - Daytime Carnaval
  • Sunday, March 5th, 2017 - Parade of Vintage Cars

Puerto de la Cruz
  • Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 - Election of the Carnival Queen
  • Saturday, February 25th, 2017 - Proclamatory Parade
  • Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 - Burial of the Sardine
  • Friday, March 3rd, 2017 - Men´s Marathon in High Heels
  • Saturday, March 4th, 2017 - Main Parade

Los Gigantes

We calculate that the 4 main days of the Los Gigantes Carnaval 2017 should run from Friday, 10th March 2017 to Monday, 13th March 2017, thus: 
  • Friday, March 10th, 2017: Election of the Queen, Infant and/or Adult. 
  • Saturday, March 11th, 2017: Kid’s activities
  • Sunday, March 12th, 2017: Main parade from 5pm.
  • Monday, March 13th, 2017: Burial of the Sardine from 9pm.
Dates of Los Gigantes Carnival 2017 are as follows (info from Tourist Office) (Via). This year it will be held over 2 weekends

1st weekend
  • Fri March 10th - Election of the Queen
  • Sat March 11th - Childrens events
  • Sunday March 12th - Grand Parade
2nd weekend
  • Fri March 17th - Sardine parade/Fireworks
  • Sat March 18th - Family events
(The Burial of the Sardine transferring from the Monday night to the Friday, which makes a lot of sense, with some more family events thrown in.)

Güímar 
  • Friday, March 10th, 2017 - Las Burras de Güímar 

Los Cristianos (Arona)

As we said last year, there's absolutely no way of predicting (save crystal ball maybe) the dates of Los Cristianos carnival. We are very lucky that we had some notice this year and even a full programme of this year's events, but that's by no means guaranteed in future.

UPDATE: Los Cristianos carnival will be held between 17 and 27 March 2017.

Los Cristianos International Carnival 2016


Los Cristianos International Carnival 2016

Los Cristianos will become La Vieja Habana (Old Havana) for a Cuban-themed carnival and events run from the 4th to 14th of March 2016.

Los Cristianos (Arona) Carnaval is notoriously difficult to pin down. Last year, confirmation of the dates came just 2 days before it began, however, on getting an email from a reader, I thought I'd check with the town hall, expecting nothing and nearly fainted when seeing a timetable for their fiestas for the entire year!

This is the longest gap, in relation to the "proper" carnival date (Shrove Tuesday) that it has ever been. Los Cristianos' main parade mostly used to take place 12 days after Shrove Tuesday, then it nudged up to 19 days and sometimes 26. This year the event is 33 days after Shrove Tuesday and therefore takes place only two weeks before Easter and only a week before the start of Holy Week, weird when carnival was originally supposed to end before lent begins.

No doubt they have their reasons, but I do wish Arona would stick to a regular, predictable schedule like all the other carnivals, most importantly so that visitors could plan ahead. Is Arona completely oblivious to visitors, or could they care less as enough of them always "just happen" to be there are the right time?

Here's the full programme of events:
  • Friday, 4th March at 9 pm, presentation of the candidates for Carnival Queen and Junior Queen at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Saturday, 5th March at midday, inauguration of the exhibition "Un Sueño de Carnaval, Homenaje a Víctor Gámez" (A Carnival Dream, Homage to Víctor Gámez) at the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos. - At 7 pm Cabalgata Anunciadora del Carnaval (Carnival Opening Parade) in Playa de Las Américas from the Commercial Centre Gala en la Avda. Rafael Puig Lluvina through to the Commercial Centre Oasis en la Avda. Las Américas. - From 10 pm Wig Party (Fiesta del Pelucón) in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Sunday, 6th March at midday Carnival Concert with the Banda de Música de Arona in the Plaza de la Pescadora, Los Cristianos. - At 5 pm Parade with all the musical groups of the carnival, from the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre) to the Playa de Los Cristianos beach. - At 6 pm Meeting of the Murgas of Tenerife in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. 
  • Tuesday, 8th March at 7 pm Festival of dance groups in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Wednesday, 9th March at 6:30 pm Dance for the elderly in the patio of the Cultural Centre. - At 8 pm Gala for the selection of the Junior Carnival Queen at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Thursday, 10th March at 9 pm Grand Gala for the selection of the Carnival Queen at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Friday, 11th March at 9 pm Drag Queen Gala after which there will be dancing to the Orquesta Deliciosa at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - From midnight Zona DJ with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
  • Saturday, 12th March from midday Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnival) with 40 Principales with national and international artists at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center and with various activities and workshops occurring simultaneously at the Plaza de la Pescadora. - At 5 pm Carnival Costumes Contest at the Plaza de la Pescadora. - At 8 pm Dancing with the orchestras Armonía Show y Tropin at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - At 10 pm Carnival procession along the beach from the Avenida de Suecia to the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre). - From midnight Zona DJ with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
  • Sunday, 13th March from 11 am to 2 pm Exhibition of Vintage and Classic Cars (event to be confirmed) in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - At 11:30 am Contest of Pets' Costumes at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center or the Plaza de la Pescadora. - 4 pm Gran Coso Apoteósico del Carnaval (Carnival Main Parade) from the Paloma Beach apartments in the Avda. Juan Carlos I to the Centro Cultural de Los Cristianos, at the end of which will be dancing to the orchestras Combo Dominicano and Pasion Gomera in the exterior of the Cultural Center.
  • Monday, 14th March at 8:30 pm Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) with the procession from the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre), to the Playa de Los Cristianos beach at the end of which will be the end of carnival party with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
Oh and there's even an official carnival song for Los Cristianos Carnival, Carnaval en la Bahía by Sira Mayo & David González.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2016

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2016, Cecilia Navarro Arteaga

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2016 was Cecilia Navarro Arteaga in a costume entitled, "Arena blanca del desierto" (White Desert Sand), designed by Daniel Pages and representing McDonald´s and La Opinión de Tenerife.

In 2016, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Flavia Martínez Álvarez, with a costume entitled "Eva" (Eve), representing Autoinsular Citroën and designed by Daniel Pages.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Priscila Medina, with "Desde Italia" (From Italy), representing Radio Club Tenerife and Centro Comercial Añaza Carrefour and designed by Santi Castro.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Tamara Siverio, with "Me siento bella" (I feel beautiful), representing Grupo Fedola and designed by Alfonso Baute.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Estefanía García Martín, with a costume entitled "Entre el bien y el mal" (Between good and bad), representing Espectáculos Bravo and Cadena Meliá Hoteles and designed by Antonio Santos Arteaga.
The theme of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival in 2016 was "The 80s". For the scenery, the LED screen was eliminated and the traditional papier-mache decorations were recovered (of doubtful taste), with eighties motifs including, a pseudo reproduction of a "Game Boy"; a giant cassette tape and a Playmobil doll paying homage to Freddy Mercury. 

Tenerife in February 2016

Carnival procession in Los Cristianos

February 2nd is an island-wide public holiday in honour of the patron of the Canary Islands: the Virgen de la Candelaria. The Fiesta de La Candelaria, the celebration of Candlemass or the Presentation of the Lord and the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary. In the town of Candelaria, where the figure of the Virgin resides, there is a program of religious events lasting several days

The only municipal public holiday falling in February this year is on Tuesday, February 9th for Martes de Carnaval (Carnival Tuesday). This is a public holiday in the following districts of the island; Arafo, Arona, Arico, Candelaria, El Rosario, El Sauzal, Fasnia, Granadilla de Abona, Icod de los Vinos, La Matanza de Acentejo, La Orotava, La Victoria de Acentejo, San Cristobal de La Laguna, San Miguel de Abona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Ursula and Tacoronte.

On the final Sunday of Carnaval in Santa Cruz - known as Domingo de Piñata - which this year falls on Sunday, February 14th, there's the annual exhibition of Automóviles Antiguos (Vintage Cars), which gather in and around the Parque García Sanabria and then parade around the city from mid-day, travelling around the Rambla de las Tinajas, Ramón y Cajal, Plaza Pedro Schwartz, Calles Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás and La Marina, ending up on the Avenida Francisco La Roche.

From 10 am - 1 pm, there's an Exposición de Coches Clásicos (Exhibition of Classic Cars), its 2nd year, organised by the Amigos del BMW E21 Tenerife (Friends of the BMW E21 in Tenerife), in the Avenida Marítima.

Most of Tenerife's carnivals - with the exception of Los Cristianos, which is in March - take place in February this year. Santa Cruz Carnaval is 5th to the 14th February; Puerto de la Cruz Carnaval begins on January 31st to February 14th; Los Gigantes Carnaval was postponed to March by the weather.

Smaller carnivals including those in Granadilla, La Orotava, Los Realejos and Icod de los Vinos, also take place in February.


Carnaval in La Orotava runs from 6th - 13th February, with it's main parade from 5 pm on Tuesday, 9th February

In the San Agustín district of Los Realejos, where this year's carnival theme is Toys, events began on January 24th and will run through to February 11th. There, the main parade takes place from 5 pm on Sunday, February 7th
In Icod de los Vinos, their carnival, inspired by Eurovision, is from January 31st to February 13th, with the main parade on Sunday, 7th February, from 5:30 pm. 
Granadilla de Abona's Pirate-themed carnival is taking place from 19th to the 28th February. The main parade is on Saturday, 27th February, from 5 pm, with the parade in El Médano on Sunday, 28th February, also from 5 pm. 

Tenerife Land of Eternal Christmas

Sunbathing SantaDesert Island ChristmasScuba Diving SantaTropical Santa
Santa's Having a Whale of a TimeSurfing SantaWaterski SantaCamel Rodeo Santa
With a wide range of products in each design, click the pics (above) to see the full selections.