Published March 13, 2026 | Events

TL;DR: Zurgena will celebrate its third St. Patrick’s Day Beer Festival on Sunday March 15 with a parade, live music, games and a full day of festivities in Plaza del Olmo. The event reflects the town’s strong international community and growing popularity among residents and visitors in the Almanzora Valley.

St. Patrick’s Day in Zurgena brings parade, beer festival and live music

Every year in March, cities around the world turn green to celebrate Ireland’s most famous holiday. This weekend, the small Almanzora Valley town of Zurgena will once again join the celebration as St. Patrick’s Day in Zurgena returns for another lively edition.

On Sunday March 15, the municipality will host the third edition of its increasingly popular St. Patrick’s Day Beer Festival, bringing together residents and visitors for a full day of music, games and community festivities.

Although St. Patrick’s Day itself falls on March 17, the local celebration has become one of the most distinctive international events in the area, reflecting the unique mix of cultures that live in the Almanzora Valley.

St. Patrick’s Day in Zurgena. An Irish celebration in the heart of the Almanzora Valley

Zurgena is home to a large international population, particularly residents from the United Kingdom. Over the years this diverse community has helped shape the social life of the town, leading to the creation of events that blend local traditions with celebrations from abroad.

The St. Patrick’s Day festival was originally conceived as a small tribute to the area’s British and Irish residents. However, what began as a modest gathering has quickly evolved into a lively community celebration that now attracts people from across the region.

Previous editions of the event have drawn crowds of more than 500 participants, transforming the town centre into a festive meeting place filled with green decorations, music and international visitors.

According to Antonio Segura, councillor for culture in Zurgena, the success of the event has exceeded expectations.

“Even though St. Patrick’s Day does not have traditional roots here, the public response has been incredibly positive,” he explained. “Our hope is that this year’s celebration will be at least as successful as the previous two editions.”

A new parade through the streets

One of the main novelties in this year’s festival will be the addition of a parade through the town centre.

The procession will move through the main streets of Zurgena accompanied by the La Voz de Almería brass band, creating a lively atmosphere as participants dressed in green costumes, shamrocks and festive accessories join the celebration.

The goal of the parade is to extend the festivities beyond the square and encourage more residents to take part as the procession moves through the village.

Organisers hope the parade will become a new highlight of the annual event, bringing colour and music to the streets while inviting spectators to join the celebrations.

A day of activities for all ages

The centre of the celebrations will once again be Plaza del Olmo, which will host the main programme throughout the day.

The festival will begin at 11:00 in the morning with games and activities designed especially for children. Organisers say the intention is to make the event a family-friendly celebration where younger visitors can enjoy the day as much as adults.

At 12:00 noon, the parade will depart from the square and make its way through the streets of Zurgena before returning to Plaza del Olmo, where the rest of the programme will continue.

Once the parade returns to the square, the atmosphere will shift towards music and entertainment, with several live performances scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening.

Music, contests and festive surprises

The programme for the afternoon includes live bands, small competitions and interactive games designed to keep the crowd entertained.

Participants taking part in the parade will also receive themed St. Patrick’s Day bandanas, decorated with traditional Irish motifs such as green shamrocks, hats and coins.

These small details help create the visual identity of the event, turning the town centre into a sea of green and reinforcing the festive spirit of the celebration.

Live music will continue throughout the afternoon and into the evening, ensuring the festival maintains a lively atmosphere well after sunset.

A growing international tradition

While St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally associated with Ireland, celebrations now take place in cities across the world. In Zurgena, the festival has taken on its own local character, reflecting the multicultural nature of the community.

The event has gradually become more than just a themed party. For many residents it represents an opportunity for locals and international neighbours to meet, celebrate and strengthen the sense of community in the town.

For visitors, the festival also offers a glimpse of the social life that has developed in the Almanzora Valley, where people from many nationalities have settled and created a unique cultural mix.

This Sunday, without needing to travel to Dublin or Belfast, residents of Almeria will once again be able to experience a small corner of Ireland — right in the heart of the Almanzora Valley during St. Patrick’s Day in Zurgena.

Want to discover more events, fiestas and things to do across the province? Browse the latest updates in our Events section.

Published 6 February, 2026 | Category: Events

TL;DR: Cooltural Fest 2026 will take place in Almeria from 20 to 23 August, with main concerts at the Recinto Ferial and a free welcome party at Parque de las Almadrabillas. The festival has confirmed David Bisbal as a headline act, alongside an expanding lineup that mixes major Spanish pop and rock names with newer acts.

Cooltural Fest 2026 in Almeria: dates, venues, welcome party and David Bisbal confirmed

Cooltural Fest 2026 has confirmed key details for its ninth edition in Almeria, including festival dates, core venues and the traditional free welcome party by the sea. The event will run from 20 to 23 August 2026, with the main ticketed concerts scheduled at the Recinto Ferial (Vega de Aca), while the opening night celebration returns to Parque de las Almadrabillas with free admission.

This year’s edition is also receiving extra attention after the festival confirmed David Bisbal as a headline act. For many locals, Bisbal playing in Almeria is always notable, but his appearance as part of a major summer festival lineup adds a different context: a broader audience, a bigger shared programme, and a night that sits inside the wider Feria period in honour of the Virgen del Mar.

If you want the live, official version of all announcements (lineup additions, ticket types, and programming updates as they are released), your most reliable references are the festival’s official site and the official ticketing pages. Details below reflect what is currently published there.

What Cooltural Fest is and why it matters in Almeria

Cooltural Fest has become one of Almeria’s signature summer events, positioned at the intersection of live music, public space and the city’s late-August atmosphere. The festival uses a split format that has helped it grow: large ticketed concerts at a dedicated main venue, and free-access events that bring the programme into central, walkable parts of the city.

That mix matters in practice. It means Cooltural Fest is not only for people who buy full passes months in advance; it also creates a visible “festival week” feeling in the city, especially around the opening night at Las Almadrabillas, where locals can attend without tickets and visitors often discover the event by chance.

In 2026, the festival is explicitly promoted as its ninth edition (“Music For All”), and the organisers continue to build a lineup that aims for broad appeal: recognisable Spanish pop and rock names alongside newer artists and different styles. If you are not an avid festival-goer, this is the kind of programme where you can go for one headline act and still end up enjoying several unexpected sets.

Dates for 2026: 20 to 23 August

The official dates currently published for Cooltural Fest 2026 are 20–23 August 2026. That places the festival in one of the busiest parts of Almeria’s summer calendar, when visitor numbers rise and the city begins to shift into Feria mode.

For planning purposes, it is worth treating the festival as a four-day window rather than “one big concert”. Even if you only care about one major artist, the logistics (transport, crowds, accommodation availability, and general city saturation) follow the rhythm of a multi-day event.

Main venues: Recinto Ferial and Parque de las Almadrabillas

The main ticketed concerts are listed for the Recinto Ferial Almeria in the Vega de Aca area. This is the large fairgrounds zone used for big capacity shows and, during Feria, the core fair activity. It is the most practical location for headline-scale concert production: access control, staging, crowd management and the kind of infrastructure that a major festival night requires.

Alongside the Recinto Ferial shows, Cooltural Fest also keeps its opening tradition: a free welcome party at Parque de las Almadrabillas, next to the Cable Ingles and the waterfront. This is a different atmosphere: closer to the city centre, open-air by the sea, and designed as a public-facing kickoff rather than a ticket-gated headline night.

In other words: Recinto Ferial is where you plan your “big concert” evening; Las Almadrabillas is where the city visibly becomes a festival city.

David Bisbal confirmed as a headline act

Cooltural Fest 2026 has confirmed David Bisbal as part of its main lineup. While the exact performance day can still be published later (festival schedules often release day splits and set times progressively), the headline confirmation itself is already a major anchor for this edition.

Bisbal’s concerts in Almeria tend to carry an extra layer of local attention because they are not simply “tour dates”; they are hometown performances. When that hometown show also lands during the late-August season linked to the Virgen del Mar period, it becomes an event inside an event — which is exactly why the festival announcement is drawing so much interest.

For visitors, the practical meaning is simple: if you want to see Bisbal live in Almeria in 2026, Cooltural Fest is the confirmed route to do it. For locals, it is an opportunity to see a familiar name inside a festival environment rather than a standalone arena-style concert.

The free welcome party: Thursday 20 August at Las Almadrabillas

One of the most useful confirmed details for 2026 is the welcome party lineup and location. The city has confirmed that the Cooltural Fest welcome party will take place on Thursday 20 August at Parque de las Almadrabillas, and that it will be free entry.

The welcome party is a smart option if you are in Almeria that week but do not want (or cannot justify) a full festival pass. It is also the easiest “low commitment” entry point for people who are curious about the vibe before deciding on ticketed nights.

Acts announced for the 2026 welcome party include Carlangas, Comandante Twin, Juanca & Pope Supersub (DJ set), Melifluo and Paula Mattheus. Expect this part of the programme to feel more like a city celebration than a contained festival arena.

Lineup: confirmed names so far and how to read the festival’s direction

Cooltural Fest has been building its 2026 lineup through staged confirmations, and the official festival channels already list a mix of established and contemporary acts. Confirmed names highlighted through official announcements include Ana Torroja, Sidecars, Rigoberta Bandini, La Plazuela and La Pegatina, with additional confirmations including Hombres G and Rusowsky — and now David Bisbal as a headline act.

What this tells you about the festival’s direction is straightforward: Cooltural Fest is leaning into a deliberately intergenerational programme. It is not trying to be niche. The idea is to create a lineup where different groups can realistically attend together — couples with different tastes, groups of friends where not everyone wants the same genre, and visitors who want “a big Spanish summer night” more than a specialised scene.

Because programming details are still being expanded, it is best to treat the current lineup as a living list. The festival has indicated that more names and more scheduling information will be published later, which is normal for an August festival announcing in stages.

Tickets and official sales channels

For ticketing, the festival points visitors to official sales pages. You will typically see options such as general passes and premium/VIP-style passes depending on what is released for that edition. If you plan to attend headline nights at the Recinto Ferial, buying through official channels matters: it reduces the risk of invalid resale tickets, and it ensures you receive any schedule updates, entry rules or policy changes that can appear as the event approaches.

As published on the official ticket listing, Cooltural Fest 2026 is promoted as taking place at Recinto Ferial Almeria during the listed dates (20–23 August 2026). Ticketing rules and access policies (including age-related conditions) can be updated closer to the event, so check the official page again before you travel if you are attending with teenagers or children.

Practical planning notes for visitors

Late August is one of Almeria’s high-pressure weeks for accommodation and movement around the city, especially if the festival rhythm overlaps with Feria activity. If you are travelling in specifically for Cooltural Fest 2026, the most realistic approach is to treat it as a peak-season trip. That means: book accommodation earlier than you normally would, and assume that taxis, parking and late-night transport can be stretched during headline nights.

For the Recinto Ferial area, plan your arrival and departure deliberately. The venue is not in the old town; it is a dedicated event zone. For the welcome party at Las Almadrabillas, the logistics are easier (walkable from central areas), but it can still become crowded because of the free-entry nature.

Finally, if you are coming mainly for David Bisbal, keep one key point in mind: the exact day of his performance may be announced later as part of the day-by-day schedule. If your trip depends on that night, you may want to wait for the final timetable before locking in travel dates — or book flexible accommodation.

Official links for live updates

• Festival homepage (news and announcements): Cooltural Fest
• Welcome party announcement (Ayuntamiento): Welcome party at Las Almadrabillas

Want to discover more events, fiestas and things to do across the province? Browse the latest updates in our Events section.

Published 30 January 2026 | Events

TL;DR Huercal-Overa has launched a Valentine’s Day campaign to support local businesses, offering prize draws, romantic experiences and a new Cupid gift delivery service from 2 to 14 February.

Huercal-Overa launches Valentine’s Day shopping campaign with prizes and Cupid delivery

The Huercal-Overa Town Hall has presented its new Valentine’s Day campaign aimed at promoting local shopping and supporting small businesses. The initiative will run from 2 to 14 February and offers incentives for residents who choose local shops for their Valentine’s purchases.

The campaign is organised by the Department of Commerce in collaboration with the Huercal-Overa Merchants Association (ACEH) and the Almeria Chamber of Commerce, with the goal of turning the town into a local shopping hub during the first half of February.

Prize draws and Valentine experiences

Customers who spend €20 or more at participating businesses will be entered into a prize draw featuring a range of Valentine-themed rewards. These include two Experience Boxes for short getaways, two romantic dinners at local restaurants, and a unique “Cupid’s Courier” service.

New for this year, the Cupid delivery service allows shoppers to have a gift personally delivered to their loved one by Cupid, adding a playful and memorable touch to Valentine’s Day. In addition, the Merchants Association will raffle a set of watches among participants.

Recognition for golden wedding anniversaries

As part of the campaign, the Town Hall will also recognise couples from Huercal-Overa celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Couples who can provide proof of their Golden Anniversary will receive a commemorative gift from the Town Hall, along with a professional photo session to mark the occasion.

Councillor for Commerce Mónica Navarro explained that the campaign aims to bring energy and emotion to the town centre during Valentine’s Day. She highlighted the importance of supporting local businesses while celebrating all stages of love, from young couples to long-married residents.

Love Corner and festive atmosphere

To create a festive Valentine’s atmosphere, a themed “Love Corner” will be installed next to the Town Hall. The space will feature a decorated photo booth where couples, friends and families can take photos and share their moments on social media.

The Town Hall encourages both residents and visitors to take part in the campaign, enjoy the quality of local businesses and celebrate Valentine’s Day in Huercal-Overa.

Looking for more local events, campaigns and things to do across the province? Browse the latest updates in our Events section.