The more the world shrinks and everywhere begins to look the same, the more I think we should celebrate quirky, local customs. And Barcelona has plenty of those. There’s the giant dolls being paraded through the streets of the old town. Then you have the incredible Castells (human towers) drawing huge crowds in squares. And let’s not forget about people protesting about politics from their balconies by banging pots and pans.

In an admittedly quirky city, the Festa Major de Gràcia is about as wonderfully odd as it gets. It’s totally unmissable if you’re in Barcelona this weekend.

Gràcia – a unique vibe

For the last few years I’ve lived in the neighbourhood of Gràcia. Nowadays it’s just another barrio of Barcelona, but until the mid-nineteenth century it was an independent town to the north of the city. Think Hampstead or Highgate in London. It still has its own unique vibe and feels very different to other neighbourhoods.

If you walk north from Passeig de Gràcia in Eixample, you’ll notice as soon as you reach the old barrio of Gràcia. The planned, wide, Manhattan-like grids of Eixample end abruptly, and are replaced with narrow winding streets leading up to the main squares where locals congregate.

In squares like Plaça del Sol, young people sit on the floor drinking bottles of Estrella. Kids run past them chasing footballs; and old people sit on the benches and catch up with their neighbours. Everyone’s there. Especially in the summer.

A community thing

In the weeks and months leading up to the middle of August, you can see the odd sign that something big is coming. A few times I’ve walked down streets like Carrer de la Providència and noticed a meeting going on through an open door. Decorations hang from the walls. Plans are laid out on tables. Passionate voices debate the best way for their street to take home the prize.

The Festa Major de Gràcia is coming!

This year is the 200th anniversary of the first documented festival, which brings corridors of colour to this corner of Barcelona. Streets compete against each other for the prize for the best decorations. Whether it’s exotic red papier mache flowers hanging above your head, or a shoal of blue paper fish, entire streets become mini-worlds that change each time you turn the corner.

Memories of the Festa Major de Gràcia

As well as being an opportunity for locals to show off their creativity, it’s also a real community event that brings people together.

And it’s not just about the decorations. This is a real week-long party. Live bands play on street corners and in squares. Bars pop up every couple of minutes, selling beers and their street’s take on a mojito. Which, obviously, they’ll tell you is infinitely better than the one you’ll be offered the next street along. There’s also a huge amount of street-food and cakes on sale.          

When I first moved to Barcelona in 2014, the Festa Major de Gràcia had just kicked off. I was blown away by the quality of the displays and how a street could be so totally transformed. Each street was like a little magical tunnel enveloping its visitors before they were suddenly met by different colours and displays on the next one.

It was a pretty amazing welcome to the city and neighbourhood I was about to call home.

A year later I was flying to India the day after the festival started. However, I was so determined to experience it that I wandered through the displays late at night during a thunderstorm, sheltering from the rain under bright, red paper orchids by the entrance to a bar.

This year I’m in London and sadly can’t make it. But the Festa Major de Gràcia remains one of the quirkiest little festivals I know, and one of my favourites. If you’re in Barcelona this weekend, make sure you journey north to the little barrio of Gràcia. Once there, prepare to be amazed by some incredible displays and some pretty competitive neighbours!