A Calendar of Festivals


A settlement! Murchante!  This is what the English Wiki page says of it ‘Murchante is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.’  The Spanish one is a bit more forthcoming.



Four thousand people live here. Like many of the towns on the region it has been on the rise since 1842.  In 1119 Alfonso the Battler - aka Alfonso I of Aragon https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_I_de_Arag%C3%B3n took the place, however a significant Muslim population lived here till the early 16th Century.






 I think it is time to get festive.  Murchante has a lot of them.  Here is a list.


  • La Virgen de mis manos: It is celebrated on Easter Monday with a pilgrimage to the San Gregorio hill, where there is a mass and a procession, followed by family and friends meals in the countryside.

  • Concentration Rociera: It is celebrated on a Saturday in the second half of April with a pilgrimage along different paths of Murchante, ending in the town centre.

  • Cyclotourist challenge 132: Road bicycle race, conceived as a physical exercise activity for leisure, tourism and cultural purposes, excluding competition. Its route runs through different municipalities in Navarra, La Rioja and the province of Soria.

  • San Gregorio: Sunday closest to May 9th. The parish priest, acolytes and companions go through the fields in prayer, blessing them and reciting the litanies until they reach the hill where the hermitage of San Gregorio stands. Many parents come with their children to spend the day, celebrating different races, better known as "jewels".

  • Solidarity March Murchante moves against cancer: Solidarity march, aimed at raising funds for the fight against cancer, which takes place in the month of May.

  • Night & Bike Cyclotourism: Saturday, first half of June. This is a non-competitive, sporting mountain bike race. The race takes place at night and starts at 10:00 p.m. A committed public, a number of cyclists who, year after year, demonstrate their loyalty to the race, as well as the constant innovations and improvements that are made in each edition, have allowed the race to become established with its own place in the mountain bike calendar.

  • Youth Festivals: Last weekend of June or first of July. Festivals dedicated to the young people of the municipality, in which they are the protagonists.

  • Wine and Tapas Night: Friday before the start of the patron saint festivities (14 to 21 August). Wine and food lovers have an event that they cannot miss on this night.

  • Cross Virgen de la Asunción: Sunday before the beginning of the patron saint festivities (14 to 21 August). A popular and free event, where local, provincial and national runners are mixed.

  • Patron Saint Festivals: festivals dedicated to the patron saint San Roque and the Virgin of the Assumption, which take place from August 14 to 21 of each year, dates in which the open and festive character of the people of the Ribera de Navarra, is made evident in all the festive events and nobody is a stranger but part of the same party, the paloteado, giants, charanga, orchestras, inflatables, bullfights, fire bulls, popular meals, cafe concerts and the poor me, are some of the events that make up the extensive program of parties, which visitors always stay in their retina.

  • Duathlon: This consists of a route through the town's municipal area, where participants must run one section and cycle the other. It takes place during the month of September.

  • Pilgrimage to Urzante (Hispanic Day/Del Pilar): October 12 (Hispanic Day) Pilgrimage to the ruins of the old town of Urzante, where the church and cemetery still stand, where a mass is celebrated with the distribution of pastries and mistela.

  • Fiestas del Santo Cristo de la Buena Siembra: Second weekend in November. Festivals full of events and celebrations, the most symbolic being the lighting of a large bonfire in the Plaza de los Fueros and the procession of the Santo Cristo.







I think we need a break.  Restaurante Garcia gets 4,5 stars from over 300 people. A week ago Blanca liked it ‘We were passing through and we stopped to eat. Village restaurant, clean, cozy, very attentive and pleasant employees eager to advise and help you choose a good menu to eat. Price - Quality good. Homemade and well-crafted dishes, excellent! yes or yes we will return.’














Time to leave town and embrace the countryside.  Almost at the end if the day we will pass Finca Oliver de la Bardena. https://www.fincaolivardelabardena.com/en/home/  Last autumn nieves write ‘We spent a great weekend at Finca Olivar, visiting the real Bardenas. The house is very good, it is spacious, spacious and very quiet. It has large green areas, very pleasant and has everything you need to feel at home. The rooms are spacious, three of them with bathroom, which is appreciated in large groups and the beds are very comfortable. Sandra, the owner, is charming, attentive to any need. 100% recommended














Tomorrow, a canal.







Apparently the collective noun for festivals is a calendar.  It is a lineup of concerts, an array of parties, agenda of meetings and a circuit of sports events.


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