Female Focus - Altea, Calpe and Alicante
If you want to buy a few really nice and original presents for people who matter, then why not go to one of the three Craft Fairs that Amata will be holding in Calpe (8th - 11th December), Altea (also 8th - 11th December) and Alicante (15th to 19th December). Real craft fairs run by real craft people who sell only what they make themselves.
We'll begin with Calpe (or Calp as it prefers to be known these days). Right in the middle of the old town, in the open space around the church and a few nearby streets, will gather more than 30 craft people with all sorts of original work. Pottery, glasswork, leather, wooden toys and all the other special items visitors to an Amata fair have come to expect. Just to liven it all up, there will be live music played by Solredo, a Father Christmas with a "HoHoHo", a juggler who juggles all day and gives a fireshow last thing in the evening, a bicycle-powered merry-go-round, a smith (but no chestnut tree, sorry about that) making miniature horse shoe key rings, a man blowing glass who proudly shows his miniature Norton motorbike (batteries not included) etc. etc. The fair opens on Thursday 8th December at 11am and closes Sunday the 11th December at 2pm. Opening times: 11am until 2pm and 5-10pm. There are lots of nearby restaurants and bars, and the old town is fun to explore.
Next comes Altea. A very artistic town with lots of resident artists and a really lovely old town, but the fair will be held in front of the Town Hall (parallel to the main road N332 but 100 yards inland). Again,
lots and lots of nice stalls, a merry-go-round as well as donkey rides, and although there is less going on, the goods on the stall are just as nice if not nicer. This fair also starts on Thursday the 8th of December. Opening times from 11 am until 9pm (doesn't close at midday); Sunday only from 11am until 2pm. And don't forget to bring carrots for the donkeys.
Last - because it's a week later - comes the craft fair in Alicante. This is officially a Nativity Fair, so everybody gets dressed up in the latest Nazarene clothing and there is a live Nativity scene, complete with Joseph, Mary and a little Infant in a (mainly) straw hut. Again lots of craft stalls with genuine craft goods, all sheltering from the fierce Nazarene winter under the enormous Ficus (rubber plant ) trees. Again, live music from Solredo, a juggler or two or three, various demonstrations (by a potter, wood carver, bookbinder, blacksmith) and workshops for children and for their parents where they can make their own Christmas decorations. There are many bars and restaurants in the square (officially called the Gabriel Miró but everybody knows it as the Plaza de Correos) and the fair itself has an outdoor taberna complete with barbecue. It runs from Thursday 15th to Monday 19th December, opening times 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm or so, on Thursday only in the afternoon.
You can get further information by visiting the Amata website
www.amata.es also in English, which shows photographs of typical Amata markets and the sort of things the stalls sell, or you can ring 639 979 678 and talk - in English - to Elvira. A direct link to photos of last year's fair in Alicante is:
http://www.amata.es/Alicante15.html.
Three Christmas Fairs with real Crafts
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