Festes de Sant Salvador, Artà
Artà's biggest summer moment is Festes de Sant Salvador, the northeast Mallorcan town's patronal festa. For roughly nine days — about 30 July to 7 August, with Sant Salvador's day itself on 6 August — the streets fill with fire, folk music and open-air dancing, and the celebrations climb up to the Santuari de Sant Salvador, the fortified sanctuary that crowns the hill above the town. The festa opens with a correfoc: devil troupes and the TremolArtà batucada run a firework route out of the Plaça de l'Ajuntament, after the ceremonial *ball dels capgrossos* (big-headed figures), the xeremiers of the municipal music school and the traditional coet boiet. Over the following days come reggae and orchestra nights, children's parties, a photography and comic exhibitions, sports tournaments and the long-running tennis and cycling races. Programme. The two grand parades — cercaviles of capgrossos, xeremiers, town authorities and the Banda de Música d'Artà — cross the lower town on 5 August and the upper town on the morning of 6 August. Sant Salvador's day peaks with the solemn Eucharist in the parish church and the Gran Verbena Monumental on the plaça del Conqueridor. The festa closes on 7 August with Mass and the folk ball de la cisterna on the esplanade in front of the sanctuary, a festa pagesa and a closing traca. Good to know. The street festa is free; a handful of sub-events are ticketed (a concert at the sanctuary, the popular run). Bring a reusable cup for the verbenes and plenty of water, and wear cover-up clothing for the correfoc.