Willow and Juanjo

Someone asked me about going to Valencia and it reminded me of this festival. People staying after the wedding might be interested in going to Alicante for the “Hogueras de San Juan” Festival. Here’s what a Spanish culture website in English has to say about it:

• Hogueras de San Juan
  June 20 to June 29. Alicante, Valencia.
  A series of ancient rituals which were followed on this, the shortest night of the year, when light triumphs over darkness, have been studied in minute detail in the work of Baroja. In these rituals, the essential features are the sun, fire and water. Around the feast of San Juan the streets are often decorated with branches and leaves, especially the balconies of young girls in love, who are serenaded; pines and poplars are planted; pilgrimages (‘romerias’) are undertaken; straw effiges are burnt; the herb thyme is blessed; and ‘sanjuanera’ songs are sung.

I would guess there will be plenty of late night drinking, dancing and fun, as there is at most Spanish festivals. Book a hotel room ahead of time though–in my experience it gets hard to find one with festivals, they’re really popular with tourists as well as people from other parts of Spain.