Have an action-packed Gozo holiday this spring
As Christmas and New Year come and go, the hard work of getting through winter begins. One way to brighten the gloom of grey skies is to start thinking about your next Gozo holiday.
Spring arrives early on Gozo. And as well as longer and warmer sunny days, you can enjoy lots of cultural activities that characterise spring on our lovely island.
In February Gozo's countryside bursts into a riot of colour with blooming wild flowers and shrubs. It's also carnival time with a choice of organised parades or the unique craziness of Nadur's Spontaneous Carnival.
Throughout March Gozo celebrates spring with a wonderful range of live music performances from the Gaulitana Festival of Musicto rock concerts.
For much of April, the island celebrates Easter with a unique mix of religious ritual and community celebrations. Then in May Gozo's festa seasonkicks off - heralding the start of summer – and there are cultural events, rock concerts and much more.
You can find a comprehensive listing of all the festive events in the Give Me Gozobooklet. We take a look at a few of the highlights below.
Gozo's Carnival Season: 1-5 March 2019
On Gozo, the carnival season lasts from the end of February into early March. It's a great time to visit Gozo as the island shrugs off winter and revels in colour, parades, music and food. For more details read our previous blog post Let Gozo's Carnival Season Blow Away Your Winter Blues.
A week before the main festivities, you can find smaller carnivals in several villages with costume parades and marching bands:
Saturday, 23 February – Organised carnival at Munxar.
Sunday, 24 February – Organised carnivals at Nadur and Għajnsielem.
Then from Friday 1 March through to Tuesday 5 March Gozo hosts two very different types of carnival.
Organised Carnival in Victoria– The streets of Gozo's capital are thronged with people enjoying the colourful costume parades and themed floats, dancing, live music, and lots of food. Perfect family fun.
Spontaneous Carnival in Nadur– Striking a very different note, Nadur's internationally famous carnival is a unique village tradition taking place in the village streets at night where you'll see people wearing grotesque masks to disguise their identities.
Insert image of Nadur's Spontaneous Carnival here
Gozo's musical March
The month of March on Gozo offers a feast for music lovers with everything from classical concerts and opera to jazz performances, musical theatre and rock concerts.
Gaulitana Music Festival: Saturday 9 March – Sunday 7 April
Venues: Various sites across Gozo. Online booking: www.teatruaurora.com.
This month-long music festival has been running for 13 years and has gained international renown. It's core focus is classical music but the festival also features many different musical styles including musical theatre and jazz. Music is merged with other art forms such as photography, dance and literature to highlight Gozo's many historical and cultural sites.
For 2019, the highlight is the OPERA+ Weekend(Friday, 5 to Sunday, 7 April). In particular, opera lovers will delight in the lavish production of Puccini’s Manon Lescautstaged at the Aurora Theatre on the Saturday.
Queen Meets Coldplay: Saturday, 16 March
Venue: Aurora Opera House, Victoria. Info: gozowindbandorchestra@yahoo.co.uk
This highly anticipated musical event sees the Aurora Opera House taken over for a spectacular rock orchestral concertfeaturing The Gozo Youth Orchestra performing with two rock bands - Cash & Band and Killer Queen Band. If you love the hits of Queen and Coldpay then this is a concert not to be missed!
Lejl Imkebbes (Mediterranean Diwali): Saturday, 16 March
Venue: The Cittadella, Victoria.
Originally planned for November 2018, but postponed due to the weather, Lejl Imkebbes(Mediterranean Diwali) is a festival of lights.
In what promises to be a magical evening more than 30,000 candles will illuminate the ancient streets of the Cittadella in Gozo's capital, which will be thronged with historical re-enactments, extended and cheaper museum entrances, live music and plenty of activities for children.
Food is another important element and there will be stalls offering Maltese and Indian dishes.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat: Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 March
Venue: Astra Theatre, Victoria. Booking on: www.ticketline.com.mt
This ever-popular musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is sure to be a sell-out at the Astra Theatre, following previous productions of Jesus Christ Superstarand Evita. This show features many great songs including Those Canaan Days, Any Dream Will Do, and Close Every Door To Me.
Easter pageantry on Gozo
Easter on Gozo is a very special time. We've written about what to expect during Easter on Gozo in a previous blog posts Parades, Pageants and Pastries … . There are cultural and religious events taking place either side of the Holy Week itself and the whole island participates in a range of community and traditional rituals.
In 2019, you'll find Easter events happening on Gozo between Monday, 1 April to Sunday, 21 April.
Events peak during Holy Week (from Palm Sunday, 14 April – Easter Sunday, 21 April) with solemn Biblical processions and real life re-enactments of the passion of Christ. On Easter Sunday itself events get much more festive with processions of statues of the Risen Christ and marching bands.
Children on Gozo take their specially decorated Easter biscuits (figolli) to their local church to be blessed by their parish priest and after Easter mass there are many joyful processions throughout the island.
Fireworks Festival
Who doesn't like fireworks? The Maltese Islands have a long tradition of using fireworks to mark special occasions and Gozo's sky certainly glows with colour during the summer festa season.
if you're lucky enough to be holidaying on Gozo in April then here's a date for your diary:
· The Malta International Fireworks Festival: Saturday, 27 April
Gozo will again be hosting the second of three major pyrotechnic displays being organised on the Maltese Islands over three days this spring. Get to the village of Xaghra[Is this correct?] before sundown to grab a good spot and settle down to an evening of spectacular fireworks synchronised to music.
Gozo Alive: Friday, 3 May to Sunday, 5 May
2018 saw the inaugural Gozo Aliveevent and this three-day cultural and sporting event is back in 2019 with a great range of activities that combine the very best of Gozo's creative arts, local culture and heritage.
The aim of Gozo Alive is to showcase Gozo's amazing cultural life and features a range of fun events from taster sessions of sporting activities to live music and dancing. A highlight is the Saturday evening in Victoria when the streets and buildings come alive with music, lights and dance.
This short video clip gives you an idea of what to expect:
Ask us for help
Baron Holiday Homes is happy to organise car hire, tours of Gozo, and special activitiesfor our guests. Just get in touch and we'll tell you all you need to know about walks near to your rental property, special events in villages nearby, and other local information.
Posted in Carnival, Easter, Festa, Fireworks, Gaulitana, Music, Spring, Things to do
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