A sea side promenade with stunning views to the port and the surrounding mountains, a wide choice of sea food “tapas” and a small but select Arts & Crafts Fair – if that sounds like a good combination to you, you could do worse than visit the Port of Jávea in the weekend of 11, 12 and 13 October. That is when
the local shop keepers association has organized their 8th “Mar de Tapas” event together with a typical Amata -fair.
And if you think that the beach fairs that you see everywhere are all the same, you haven’t been to the one in the Port of Jávea! There the craft association Amata carefully selects the participants and you will see the difference! All that is for sale in an Amata fair must be hand made by the same person that is present in the stall.
All participants have consciously decided to dedicate their time to making things that they like (and hope that other people like as well!). They use natural or recycled materials, a few hand tools and perhaps a simple electric machine, sometimes ebven in the fair, so you can place special orders if you don’t find what you are looking for. Perhaps a bit early for buying Christmas presents, but certainly a good occasion to do so!
The fair is set up at the sea front in the Port of Jávea. Some twenty craft men and women are expected, each one offering something different – pottery and painted pebbles, water colours and oil paintings, embossed leather, engraved glass (on the spot!) and espadrilles in crochet; little glass animals made with a blow torch, original T-shirts, candles made of real beaes wax, and several stalls with deisgner jewelry, each one using different meterials and techniques: silver, bronze, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, fimo or even recycled beer tins. And a potter brings his wheel to offer you the chance to make your own little bowl or cup.
And that same weekend you can take a drink with a sea food tapa in several bars and restaurants in the Port. With a name like “Mar de Tapas” (a sea of tapas) it is obvious that all tapas are made with sea food. You can buy tickets and get a list of all the bars en restaurants where you can exchange these for a drink+tapa at several points in the port, one of them is next to the craft fair.
Opening times are on all three days (11, 12 and 13 October) from 11 am till 11 pm, although on Sunday they might close a bir earlier. All stalls stay open at lunchtime. The “Mar de Tapas” runs from Friday evening till Sunday lunchtime. More information about the fair (also in English) on 639 979 678. You ca find the fair in Google Maps, searching for Feria de Artesanía Jávea. And if there are any changes (for example in case of bad weather), they will be published in Facebook in “feriaartesaniajavea”.
