That paella It is the iconic dish of the Levantine gastronomy It is something well known to everyone.
Therefore it will not surprise you that many events, contests and parties are held around paella in the Valencian Community.
From the popular point of view, the Benicàssim Paella Day, In the province of Castellón, is one of the main references.
Can you imagine that one day thousands of people occupy the main streets of a town like Benicàssim to cook hundreds of paellas on the asphalt?
Well that is what happens known as Day of the Paellas which has been taking place for more than 30 years coinciding with the celebrations of the patron saint festivities of San Antonio Abad and Santa Agueda, in the second half of January.
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to visit Benicassim coinciding with this Popular party, which allowed me to enjoy it together with about 20.000 people who took to the streets of the center of this town that in winter has about 28.000 residents.
Paellas Benicàssim Party Date 2018
La date of the Paella Day 2018 It is Friday, January 19, a new reason to visit this holiday town that has other festive references.
Specifically, in the summer season, in Benicàssim the FIB international music festival and Belle Epoque, the latter an event related to the Route of the Villas.
The great popular character of Day of the Paellas It manifests itself throughout the day, so that the inhabitants of Benicàssim take to the streets to share a great paella along with family and friends.
The town's bars and restaurants also participate in the festival by offering their own paellas to friendly clients, as well as visitors who have come to enjoy the festival.
The day begins with a solidarity lunch which takes place in the square of the old railway station.
On the same street, embers occupy the road, along with chorizos, sausages and blood sausages, as well as loaves of bread, beer or wine.
It is a great popular barbecue, which is actually a mere appetizer of the main dish of the day, the paellas.
And the time has come to launch the operation to prepare them.
A week before, the participants in the day will have requested a space on the street to prepare the paella, gathering more than a thousand requests to prepare more than 1.400 paellas.
The night before Day of the Paellas the workers of the Benicàssim town hall They leave sand and a bag of firewood in each of the spaces provided for preparing the paellas.
And already during the morning, participants can collect aprons, irons and folding tables in places enabled for their distribution.
On your walk through the streets of the center of Benicàssim, to the rhythm of the charanga of the young people of the municipal music band, you can see how each group of family or friends prepares the most varied paellas.
And don't be surprised if they invite you to try them.
Of course, make sure you wear washable clothes because the smoke from the embers and the smell of the paellas invade all the streets of the center.
After tasting the paella, around five in the afternoon it is the music that takes center stage in the streets of Benicàssim.
For this, there are stages set up for outdoor performances, but the music also plays inside the main leisure venues in the town.
The party will last for hours, officially until midnight, although in reality you will choose when to end it.
In short, a great popular festival that shows another facet of Benicássim, a town traditionally linked to the image of the family summer vacation.
Paella Day Photos
Here you have more photos of Paella Day in Benicàssim taken during last year's celebration.
Let's put January 19 on the agenda!
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