A week of festivities, gala parades, conquests and reconquests bring the streets of Moraira to fever pitch, coinciding as they do with the start of the tourist season and the celebration of one of this Alicante town's most deeply rooted festivals: the Moors and Christians Festival.
Around the second or third week of June, the proclamation by the Councillor for Festivities signals the start of the celebrations, in which choral music and the presentation of standards on the Castle esplanade are a further sign that the festivities are under way.
Parades, the traditional offering of flowers to Christ the Most Holy, which last year was transferred to the Castle's Hermitage, the firing of harquebuses and the spectacular night-time battle that represents the Moors landing on l'Ampolla beach... These are all part and parcel of the festivities - let's not forget the taking of the castle - that will take place in the coming days on the streets of Moraira and for sure no self-respecting tourist or local resident will not want to miss the smallest detail of such an emblematic celebration.
A second representation takes place the following day in the same setting, this one during the daytime, involving the Christian reconquest. On the beach, everybody makes themselves comfortable on the sand to watch the battle in which the Christian forces took back their lands.
To round the event off, a colourful and highly attractive gala parade brings Moraira's Moors and Christians festivities to a fabulous close until the following year.If you want to watch it, it's advisable to go early to find a good spot, as this event is very popular and nobody wants to miss it. Kids will be surprised by the different marching drills of the “filàs”, the horses that are adorned for battle, and the gaily decorated floats that spit fire and much more.
The Bonfires of San Juan in Alicante, which coincide with the summer solstice on the 24th of June, are without doubt the best known of all the festivities that are held in this town. Internationally famous, not for nothing have they been declared a "Festival of International Tourist Interest", and each year they attract thousands of people from every corner of the world.
On the first Saturday of every month, the Jalón Town Square hosts its traditional earth market, which strives to make the region's traditional home-made foodstuffs more appreciated: marmalades, sweets, cheese, fruit and vegetables, meat products…
At the beginning of October, just at the start of the autumn, Moraira takes on a distinctly German feel as it celebrates its very own Oktoberfest. Nowadays, this extremely popular and traditional German festival is being celebrated in more and more Spanish cities and towns. Set up in the public car park in Moraira, more than 5000 litres of German beer, typical food and live music pay homage to one of the world's most popular festivals.