Andorra la VellaOrdino celebrates the Christmas Fair again this year with a large number of proposals for all audiences and the traditional craft market. This year the fair will open on Friday 6 December with the show ‘Les jouets’, by the company Mademoiselle Paillette, which will take place on the town’s Main Street from 11am. The second most outstanding act of the opening of the fair will be the lighting of the lights, which, as is tradition, will be carried out by Esbart Valls del Nord in the Jardins de la Casa Pairal. The lighting will start at 18:00 and will give way to a carol singing with the soprano Jonaina Salvador, who will be accompanied by Jordi Barceló on the piano.
Thus, as explained on Monday by the Minister of Culture, Mònica Armengol, and the head of Ordino’s Tourism Department, Cristina Ariño, these are just two examples “of what we want the Christmas fair in Ordino to be: a space where to be able to do some Christmas shopping with handmade products and also a meeting place to celebrate these dates that offers an authentic experience both to the residents of the parish and to the tourists who visit us”.
Going into more detail about the proposals, this year’s Christmas Market will have around twenty craft stalls, gifts and local gastronomy. The booths will be distributed between Plaça de la Closa and Carrer Major, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 from 11 am to 8 pm and Sunday 8 from 11 am to 2 pm. In addition, in the Era of Ordino there will be a ‘Pop up Store’ with the unique vintage products of Art@Retro by Me&Jo.
Main proposals of the program
As for the rest of the activities, Ariño has emphasized that until January 11 there will be carols sung in the street with choirs and local groups that will perform traditional songs in different spaces and times. The traditional gymkhana and search for the Tió de Nadal will also be held, for which the available places have already been sold out. The activity – aimed at the little ones – consists of looking for the Tió de Nadal throughout the town until giving way to the lighting of the children’s Christmas tree, an event that will take place on December 7, from 18 hours, in Plaça Prat de Call. Another of the activities will be the ‘Magic Mirror’ that will be placed in the marquee in Plaça de la Closa, a space that will allow you to take photos and print them out.
On the other hand, the program highlights different street shows for the whole family such as theater sessions with holograms with the ‘Dreamlike world inside’, an innovative experience that combines technology and tradition to tell Christmas stories, or other proposals such as ‘A suitcase of stories’ by LÃquid Dansa and la Moixera, a dance show with the collaboration of the Jove Ballet d’Andorra, or a craft workshop organized by La Capsa.
Also coinciding with the fair, on Sunday December 8 at 12 noon, the popular performance ‘El despertar de l’osseta’ and ‘L’ultima ossa d’Ordino’ will take place in Plaça Prat de Call, by the Popular Culture Association of Ordino. With all these activities, plus the Christmas lighting, combined with the image of a typical mountain village in the Pyrenees, “Ordino turns its old town into a fairytale postcard, ideal to be photographed in any corner”, assured Armengol .
Likewise, one of the novelties of the program and which is currently underway is the visit to Santa’s house, an experience that allows children to enjoy a gymnasium through the village, where they must follow magical tracks to reach Santa’s house. There a private audience awaits them where they can hand in the letter and spend some time with him and his assistants. They can also visit the workshops from where the orders are prepared. This activity will take place until December 22.
As every year, in addition, the community creates a special collection of Christmas balls that will be distributed during the fair and that can also be purchased at the Tourist Office, in Casa de la Muntanya. This year the collection is dedicated to the new Macarulla d’Ordino trail ‘Piero and Queen Pitavola’, and that’s why the main element is butterflies.
Workshops and activities for all audiences
Throughout December and early January, the corporation has scheduled themed workshops for adults and children, as well as storytelling, performances, concerts and exhibitions. By and large, the most outstanding events will be the Christmas party organized by the Association of the Elderly and Esbart Valls del Nord on January 11; a show by the Introduction to the La Capsa Show group; or an exhibition of illustrated carols made by students that will be available in the L’Estudi socio-cultural building.
The Fratelli la Strada concert on December 15th is also noteworthy; the Gospel concert by Gospel Colors on the 19th; the Christmas Concert with the Casamanya Choir and the Piulets Choir on the 22nd; or ONCA’s New Year’s concert on January 1.
Also, on December 24, the Cagatió will be held in the Plaça Major (11 a.m.), while at 6 p.m. Santa will be welcomed and chocolate and cake will be distributed among all attendees. And at 12 o’clock at night, the mass of the rooster will be celebrated in the parish church of Ordino with mulled wine and hot chocolate at the exit.
On the 28th, for the Saints Innocents, work is being done to establish a new tradition that already started last year: The popular solidarity run of the Llufa. The price of registration is to bring a toy, which will later be given to the RTVA campaign ‘No child without a toy’.
Finally, on January 5, the arrival of the Kings of the Orient will be celebrated at the ACCO. In this sense, the representation of the Festa dels Reis, which has been held since the 1980s thanks to the initiative of Lourdes Pons and teacher Antoni Florit, continues. The function includes dances, recitation of texts and interpretation of carols with the participation of children and adults of the parish. For all this, the corporation has allocated a budget of 27,000 euros.