Patronal Festivities in La Font de la Figuera

Festes patronals are the annual festival a Valencian town holds for its patron saint, and almost every town has one. La Font de la Figuera holds its own at the turn of August into September. This is the village version rather than a city spectacle: street acts run by local associations, and nothing translated. That is the point of going.

What the programme words mean

• Dansà — the traditional Valencian street dance, performed in couples in period dress to the dolçaina (a shawm) and tabalet (a drum). Slow, formal, usually danced along a main street.
• Gegants i cabuts — giants and big-heads. Towering figures parade; the big-heads chase children. Warn small children first.
• Correfoc — literally "fire-run": costumed devils move through the street carrying lit fireworks on frames. The act that needs real preparation.
• Gatxamigues — an inland dish of flour, water, olive oil and garlic, cooked in a pan over a fire and stirred without stopping until it sets.
• Verbena — the open-air night dance with a live band in the square. It starts late by northern-European standards and ends much later.

A xarlotà cómica also appears on the programme. Exact days and times come from the organiser, not from this page.

Getting there, and dressing for a correfoc

Without a car this is awkward. A comarcal bus links the town with Xàtiva via Moixent, Vallada and Montesa, but with only a handful of runs a day and fewer at weekends, so check the current timetable before relying on it. Driving is the realistic option; reaching the towns without a car covers the alternatives. This is a village, not a resort — plan to come and go the same day, or base yourself in Xàtiva.

For the correfoc: old cotton clothing, long sleeves, long trousers, a hat or hood, closed shoes, nothing synthetic — synthetics melt where a spark lands. Protect your eyes, put the phone away, and if you would rather watch than walk in it, stand on the side the procession is not passing.

Nearby

Xàtiva castle is a long half-hour away and is the best-known sight in La Costera. Ontinyent, in the neighbouring Vall d'Albaida, is the other substantial town within reach. For the shape of the Valencian festival year, see our festival calendar.