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Neighborhood parties
A collection of traditional festivals spread across neighborhoods and villages of La Vila Joiosa.
These celebrations include the feasts of Saint Anthony, Saint Isidore, Saint Pancras, Our Lady of the Assumption, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Augustine, Saint Raymond, and Saint Blaise, featuring music, contests, processions, and other popular activities. The Saint Jude Festival, held in the La Cala neighborhood, is also part of these festivities.
Hermitage of Saint Anthony
Sant Antoni
It's the first festival of the year and is celebrated on the weekend closest to January 17th, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Abbot. This saint is the patron saint of animals and is therefore more popularly known as Sant Antoni del Porquet (Saint Anthony of the Little Pig).
It's the first festival of the year and is celebrated on the weekend closest to January 17th, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Abbot. This saint is the patron saint of animals and is therefore more popularly known as Sant Antoni del Porquet (Saint Anthony of the Little Pig).
San Isidro Labrador
It is celebrated on the weekend closest to May 15th. Its main and unique event is the pilgrimage, in which the image of the saint is carried on a traditional cart from the square of the Hermitage of San Antonio to the nearby San Isidro neighborhood in the same district. Some participants wear traditional clothing, and all the pilgrims carry a walking stick for the journey.
At the end there is a communal lunch.
Old Town
San Pancracio
May 12th is the feast day of Saint Pancras, patron saint of job seekers. In María Amada Street in the city's Old Town, there has always been a niche with the image of this young saint, and festivities were held in his honor.
Currently, the mass and procession are still held on the Sunday closest to the festival, and the neighbors sometimes hold "potluck dinners" to keep alive the camaraderie that the celebration of these festivities entailed.
Paradise
Virgin of the Assumption
On August 15th, the Paraíso neighborhood dresses up to celebrate this deeply rooted tradition among its residents. A chapel in the center of the neighborhood serves as a year-round reminder of the devotion to this Virgin.
Pati Fosc
San Bartolomé
A small chapel in this traditional neighborhood of the municipality reminds us that when the month of August arrives, on the weekend closest to the 24th, its streets are filled with color with decorations made by the residents themselves.
The street parties, the paella competition, the games and activities for the little ones and the procession of Saint Bartholomew through the streets of the neighborhood, are fixed events of this celebration.
Beach-Old Town
San Agustín
A traditional festival celebrated around August 28th, the feast of Saint Augustine, which fills the area of the old town of Villajoyosa closest to the beach with music and fun.
Decorated streets await the descent of the saint to begin the festivities. On Calle la Bomba, the festival committee invites us to enjoy the open-air dances, potluck dinners, the "Cruet de Peix" (fish stew) competition, the street cleaning, the "bassi" (a traditional game played at the fountain in Paseo San Pedro, where coins are thrown into the dyed water and children have to find them), and the popular "olleta de Blat" (a type of stew) tasting, which attracts locals and visitors alike.
Pastor Coast
San Ramón
August 31st is the feast day of Saint Raymond Nonnatus. These festivities provide an opportunity for the residents of this humble neighborhood to share a few days of fellowship and camaraderie.
Activities for the little ones, gastronomic competitions, musical evenings and the procession of the saint are always included in the program of events of these festivities that bring the month of August to a close.
Sant Blai
Fancy a snack? On February 3rd, "Rotllo de Sant Blai", an authentic snack, for a different, special and traditional afternoon.
Fortunately, some traditions endure through the years and are passed down from generation to generation. Such is the case of Saint Blaise. On February 3rd, the feast day of this bishop and martyr is celebrated, and he is popularly invoked to cure throat infections and other ailments.
The image of Saint Blaise venerated in La Vila Joiosa is located in a small, privately owned chapel in the Paradís area. It is traditional to visit the saint on his feast day to ask him to protect our throats and to repeat the popular prayers that say “Sant Blai Gloriós cura’m la tos” or “Sant Blai Gloriós deixa’m al xiquet i emporta’t la tos”.
La Cala
The San Judas Festival is celebrated every year in the La Cala neighborhood of Villajoyosa in October, the saint's feast day. This popular celebration brings together religious activities, music, festive events, and activities for all ages, making it one of the most important traditional events in this Villajoyosa neighborhood.
Multiple neighborhood sub-festivals with their own dates and events.
Practical Information
fiestas@villajoyosa.es
Vila Joiosa Town Hall. Department of Festivals.