Fair Saturday Festival 2022

This event brightens up Bilbao, the most important city of Bizkaya region of Basque Country, during a cold winter day. The Baskulture team went there and reported the cultural expressions that were being made.

Image: Fair Saturday Festival Facebook

The festival takes place every last Saturday in November, which happens to be the 26th November in 2022. It was brought into life by the Fair Saturday Foundation, which was formed in 2015 in Bilbao. The “Fair Saturday” was created to have a specific date to celebrate art and culture and to feel its social impact. On this day, creators and workers of and in culture and artists from all around the world or in the local spot come together. On this special day, they present their work and projects to a large audience and give them the opportunity to support their project. All in all, the festival reflects on the value of art and culture and to put it into the center of urban and social life. It wants the audience to think about culture as a social innovation around which positive and human events and feelings evolve, both on an individual, a personal and a collective level. Further, it creates space for open discussions and international communication.

“Keeping the Arts Alive amidst the New Normal”

Jack Wong, George Town Festival Director Penang

On the day of the festival, a map was leading around the visitors of the festivals through the city. The various places that collaborated with the festival organization were diverse as the artists and categories themselves. At the BBK Kuna, the Koopera Stores collaborated with designers and created a sustainable fashion show. At the Centro Comercial, children and teenager performed orchestral music and ballet. The BWall Collective presented street art along the docs at the Nervion River. The Metro of Bilbao collaborated with musicians and positioned them at the entries of the central stations such as Moyua and Abando. In the evening, musicians and DJs played their program at popular places such as Café Antzokia or Bilborock. The program was running the whole day and served categories such as dance, art exhibition, sales, music, shows, workshops, theater plays and much more. The festival organization made it possible to cover every taste and preferences to offer the visitors a positive experience.

Photo by Baskulture Team

The whole day ended in a great concert “Evento Inaugural”, which took place in the Bilbao Arena around 8pm. The main topic of the night was music history and its greatest hits, interpreted by mostly local musicians. In total, there were 2.300 artists coming together to present 24 different topics – among various solo artists’ different choirs made an appearance. The artists were featured by a modern audiovisual program. With this concert, one of the most important cultural events in Bilbao found its beginning.

Besides the Fair Saturday Festival itself, the foundation also honors leading positions in culture and organization with the Fair Saturday Awards. Every year, seven international personalities or institutions get this acknowledgement. The event takes place in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.