La Patum, Les Santes, La Mercè and... Fairs: Girona launches its own brand to promote the Sant Narcís festivities

GironaWhen we talk about Patum, Mercè, Les Santes, or Santa Tecla, in Catalonia, it's not necessary for these major festivals to have a place of reference behind them. It's more than implicit. We know ipso facto These are the festivals of Berga, Barcelona, ​​Mataró, and Tarragona. But if we're talking about Fairs, where are we referring to? We Girona residents have no doubt: it immediately reminds us of the cold (because in Girona we say it in the feminine form)., in the Devesa and the smell of chestnuts on the long weekend of Sant Narciso (October 29) and All Saints' Day (November 1). What Catalan city can proudly say that it is once again in the stalemate of the changing weather, when one weekend you're still wearing short sleeves and the next perhaps already wearing a coat and gloves, enjoying the early hours of concerts while holding a glass of ratafia in your glass?

To reclaim this heritage, Girona City Council has just presented its new Fairs brand "and thus generate pride in the city," in the words of its mayor, Lluc Salellas. A red sandwich in the shape of a chestnut with the word "Ferias" inside will be the new brand linked to the Sant Narciso festivities, which from now on also have a new Instagram account, @firesdegirona, from where the entire program will be announced. The goal is also to create merchandising for this new image and, beyond the annual poster, which will be presented in mid-September, for it to become a logo and symbol linked to the city year after year.

"When the holidays end, Girona City Council's Culture Councilor, Quim Ayats, already thinks about the Fairs. Culture opens doors, and the new brand represents many elements of autumn and also of popular culture. This is no coincidence, because what we've done in recent years is strengthen culture." Despite talking about Fairs, the City Council wants the Sant Narcís festivities to "go beyond" the attractions in the Devesa. For Ayats, then, the creation of the brand aims to reinforce "the work already done," with a "30% increase in activities" in recent years.

But beyond the Girona people, the brand aims to serve to make the Girona Fairs a "national benchmark" like "La Patum, Les Santes, or La Mercè." "There are no other festivals at this level around All Saints' Day," he adds. Ayats points out that the Fairs are a space for "reunion" for many Girona residents and also a time for "sharing." Hence this invitation to "dialogue" in a chestnut-shaped speech bubble.

An artist's poster

As the progress was made, Zamora's OpinionThe branding was developed by Glam Cooperativa de Comunicación y Diseño, after winning a public competition worth €6,833.84. Another new feature this year, following the experience of Mercè, is that each year's poster will no longer be drawn up through a lottery but will be commissioned by an artist. The goal is to make it a collectible poster.

In parallel, Girona City Council is seeking to consolidate various traditions linked to the Fairs that go beyond the concerts at the Copa or the attractions. They have already become new traditions the raising of the pillar up the cathedral steps by the Marrecs, the parades linked to the proclamation in the Plaza del Vino, the hanging of flies, and the Bicicrucis, which has been done alternately each year and which this year seeks to stand out or will not be repeated. That's why various words linked to the San Narciso Festival accompany the poster: concerts, fireworks, sardanas, crafts, Barracas glass, rain of giants, mocas, skittles, proclamation, waterwheel, eagle... Words linked to the Fairs.