Valencia Weekend: Kites at Cabanyal, Kiefer at CAHH & May Day Holiday
Buen Finde! Friday is a public holiday — International Workers’ Day — so this is a long weekend, and Valencia has filled it well.
The Cabanyal Kite Festival is back on Sunday, a rescheduled crowd-pleaser that’s free and as good an excuse as any to spend the afternoon on the beach. It’s a big weekend for art lovers: The Anselm Kiefer exhibition opens this week at CAHH — a significant moment for the city — wth more openings at IVAM and Fundación Bancaja. The Feria Andaluza runs through Sunday, and the Feria del Libro has just opened in the Viveros gardens. Plus, plenty of live music options.
Public holiday — Friday 1 May. International Workers’ Day. Most shops, businesses, and government offices will be closed. Expect marches and protests of solidarity with labor movements on the streets as well.
Festivals & Holidays
On Friday evening, the Mother’s Day Mascletà takes place at Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 9 pm. This is one of the evening mascletàs that was postponed during Fallas due to rain, now rescheduled as a gesture for Mother’s Day. Free to watch from the square.
Source: Ayuntamiento – Mascletà
The Cabanyal Kite Festival finally makes it to the beach after being rained out earlier in the season. A full day of kite-flying at the beach, with workshops for children covering both how to make and how to fly a kite, plus a competition with awards in the afternoon. Open to all.
Source: Visit Valencia — Cabanyal Kite Festival
The Feria Andaluza runs through to Sunday at the Turia Park fairground. This is Valencia’s annual Andalucian fair — flamenco dancing and singing, Andalucian food stalls, and rebujito, the sherry-and-lemonade cocktail that is inseparable from the tradition. If you missed last weekend, this is the last chance. Free admission.
Source: Visit Valencia – Feria Andaluza
The Feria del Libro opened this week in the Jardines Viveros and runs through to 10 May. Valencia’s biggest book fair combines stalls from local and national publishers with talks, author readings, and signings. Events are in Spanish and Valencian — a good excuse for language learners to dip in. Free admission.
Source: Feria del Libro
Visual Art & Exhibitions
Anselm Kiefer at CAHH — Opens today, through 1 October
The Kiefer exhibition at the Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero has been a long time coming. This is the first major exhibition of new work at CAHH since it launched, and the first substantial showing of Kiefer’s work in Spain in roughly two decades. The German artist — known for large-scale paintings and sculptures that draw heavily on mythology, history, and the weight of the 20th century — is one of the most significant figures in contemporary art. Valencia Plaza has a full review of the show on their site.
Sources: CAHH · Valencia Plaza
Fundación Bancaja has also just opened several new exhibitions, including a survey of works from Miró to Barceló alongside pieces by Antoni Tàpies, and a separate show dedicated to the innovative landscapes of Valencian artist Calo Carratalá. It pairs naturally with a Kiefer visit if you are already in Ciutat Vella.
Source: Fundación Bancaja
IVAM, the city’s contemporary arts museum in El Carmen, is offering a dark and quiet respite from city life with Radix, a new exhibition of work from Tania Candiani, reviewed by Valencia Plaza.
Sources: IVAM · Valencia Plaza
Live Music
International Jazz Day is marked on Thursday, 30 April with free open-air concerts at Plaza del Rosari in Poblats Marítims, featuring local talent including the Sedajazz Latin Big Band. The Berklee Valencia campus also closes its free spring outdoor concert series with Lago de Conciertos on Thursday evening at the Science Museum, covering soul, jazz, and R&B. Plus Jimmy Glass in El Carmen continues its spring jazz cycle with pianist Jacob Sacks and his trio on Thursday. Booking required for this intimate venue
Sources: Ayuntamiento – Día Internacional del Jazz · Berklee Valencia · Jimmy Glass Jazz
16 Toneladas hosts two significant shows this weekend. On Friday, Edwyn Collins plays what he has described as his farewell tour of Spain — Collins is best known for the 1994 single A Girl Like You but was a significant figure in British independent music; the fact that he is performing at all, having survived two brain haemorrhages, gives the show an unusual weight. On Sunday, Spanish electronic music pioneer Esplendor Geométrico takes the stage. Both require tickets in advance.
Source: 16 Toneladas
The Valencia Orchestra performs Debussy’s Suite Iberia at the Palau de la Música on Thursday evening — one of the composer’s most-played works, and a programme worth knowing about if you haven’t caught the orchestra this season. Booking recommended. Les Arts continues its run of Richard Strauss’s Salomé through 9 May. Tickets required.
Sources: Palau de la Musica · Les Arts
Theatre & Performance
Prisonia, the latest show from Circo de los Horrores, sets up on the Bioparc Esplanade in Campanar from Friday. The production is a dystopian thriller set in an AI-controlled prison, with acrobatics and high-production theatrical effects. The company bills it as suitable for all ages, though the darker visual elements are worth bearing in mind if you are bringing small children. Booking required.
Source: Cirque de los Horrores
Food & Gastronomy
Not an event, but worth a read: Las Provincias has published a profile of Javier Morcillo — known locally as Javi Algas — a seaweed specialist who sells an unusually wide range of sea vegetables at Mercado de Ruzafa, and explains how to cook with them. If you’ve ever been curious about the stall, this is the piece.
Source: Las Provincias
Community Calendar
Events organised by and for Valencia’s international resident community.
Local Air Valencia presents a talk and workshop with artist-in-residence Maren Götzman on Thursday, 30 April at 7:30 pm. Open to all at the Local Air studio in Rascaña.
All Over The Place – Valencia-based comedian and raconteur Alexey Timbul tries a new format on Friday evening, 1 May — stand-up reframed as a talk show, at Acting in English in Ruzafa. Spaces are limited. Tickets via Meetup. Book on Meetup
Save the Date: Padel Social at Padel Alboraya on 31 May — €12 to enter, open to all levels. You’ll be matched with a partner and grouped by ability for a series of short matches. Message the admins in the WhatsApp community for details. Join via WhatsApp community
Coming Up
Fiesta de la Virgen de los Desamparados (8–11 May) — Valencia’s spring religious festival honoring la Virgen de los Desamparados, Our Lady of the Forsaken. It’s centred on the Cathedral and Basilica, with choral concerts, traditional dance, and processions through the old city.
Source: Visit Valencia
Cabanyal Íntim (7-10 May)— Theatre and dance that celebrate the hidden corners of Cabanyal. The year’s theme is “Vulnerable”, featuring Spanish and Valencian language works at small, and sometimes unexpected, venues, in this beach neighborhood.
Source: Cabanyal Íntim
Jardí Electrònic (9 May) — The popular open-air electronic music series returns with a new home at the Jardín de las Hespérides near the Botanic Garden. New location, same programme of emerging Valencia DJ talent. Sells out fast, so book ahead.
Source: Jardí Electrònic Tickets
