by During April 27 and 28, the town of Pareja celebrates its IX Medieval Fair. “During these days, we will open wide the doors and drawbridges of the wall of our town so that minstrels, dancers and troubadours will delight the attendees with their zithers, dances and traditional melodies; We will open the doors of Pareja to offer a few days full of history and fun in which we will return to the Middle Ages,” acknowledged the mayor, Javier del Río.
The Cultural and Women’s Association and the Seniors’ Association, together with the City Council and all the residents, join together to comply with the order of Alfonso X El Sabio. A concession dated in Valladolid, “on the seventh day of October 1255”.
All the neighbors take part in this event, wearing period clothing and decorating their houses, streets and squares. And to support the tourism sector, the City Council promoted the El Balcón de la Vega Hotel, which has been in operation for two years offering a quality hospitality service, such as the Medieval Tower, which houses the Museum of Couple Witches or the future cycle-pedestrian walkway that is about to be awarded, which will connect the center of Pareja with the weir above the N 204 highway, which will also have a viewpoint, infrastructure that favors the arrival of visitors all year round and especially at times like the Fair Medieval Villa.
The market will be made up of forty artisan stalls, most of them of local origin. There will be a medieval camp, the Tower and the bullring and surrounding areas will be opened to host an endless number of activities for all audiences.
Learning from the experience of previous years, the program fills the historic center of Pareja with events for all audiences. In this way, it boosts Pareja commerce and generates activity that benefits local SMEs that weekend, always one of the valley tourist moments in which the influx of visitors to Pareja is lower, and it does so by highlighting the monuments. and streets of the town, as a way to attract tourism to the town.
The tourism sector is the main economic engine of Pareja. For this reason, as Javier del Río recalled, the Pareja City Council has been reinforcing and enhancing it for years “with the beautification of streets and squares, with the support for our entrepreneurs, or with the construction by the City Council of infrastructures such as the El Balcón de la Vega Hotel, which has been in operation for two years offering a quality hospitality service, such as the Medieval Tower, which we have rehabilitated and built the Couple Witch Museum inside, which can be visited during the Fair, or such as the future cycle-pedestrian walkway that is about to be awarded, which will link the center of Pareja with the weir above the N 204 highway, which will also have a viewpoint, and which has an investment of close to 800,000 euros.”
The main stage of the Medieval Fair will once again be, naturally, the Plaza de la Constitución. However, the fun and activities also extend to the Plaza de María Cristina, where a medieval camp will be installed and to the surroundings of El Torreón, which now houses the Museum of Couple Witches, and the Bullring. where a good part of the shows are also held, such as jousting on horseback, or the flight of birds of prey.
With the evolution of the editions, the decoration has been expanded to more and more corners of the town, so that the visitors who come that weekend can immerse themselves in an immersive experience, which all the residents of Pareja also enjoy. . Likewise, every year there are more and more couples who accompany the celebration wearing medieval clothing that they themselves have made, to join with them in the general characterization of the event.
There will be more than 40 medieval stalls that will gather in the Plaza de la Constitución de Pareja, coming from up to eight different provinces. However, there is still room for those who are interested in participating to do so by sending an e-mail to town hall@pareja.es or by calling 949 35 40 03. The rules and regulations are available on the municipal website www.pareja.es. everything necessary to make the request.
With all this, the Medieval Fair of Pareja “will once again be a showcase of our town and another important tourist boost, which adds to the wide offer that we have in Pareja, to our magnificent natural and environmental surroundings, whose main reference is the weir, and the rich cultural, heritage and historical heritage that we have in our town. Not in vain has Pareja been, since the Middle Ages, the summer episcopal seat of the bishops of Cuenca, lords of the town,” the mayor said this morning.
IX MEDIEVAL COUPLE FAIR
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
10:00 a.m.- “TRADITIONAL BREAKFAST.” With chocolate and biscuits for all attendees. Place: Town square.
12:00h.-RECEPTION OF AUTHORITIES AND INAUGURATION OF THE IX MEDIEVAL FAIR THROUGH A PARADE. Different characters will walk through the market and its streets. The innkeepers, soldiers, guards and other subjects will delight the public. Place: Market.
12:30 p.m. – CHILDREN’S FENCING. Collaborator: ALCAMUD. Place: Market.
– ARCHERY. Location: Camp.
– CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS (crowns and helmets, medieval paintings, juggling, heraldic shields…) Location: Camp.
1:00 p.m.- FLIGHT EXHIBITION OF BIRDS OF PREY. Place: Bullring.
Throughout the day there will be walks through the market with the birds for anyone who wants to see them up close and take photos with them.
During the exhibition, free visit to the Couple Witches Museum, located in the Medieval Tower (Plaza de Toros). Maximum capacity 12 people.
-MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
1:30 p.m.-COMBAT DEMONSTRATION. Place: Market.
2:00 p.m.- SCENE WITH MEDIEVAL CHARACTERS. Place: Market.
– JUGLAR. Place: Market.
– MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
2:30 p.m.- TASTING OF MIGAS ACCOMPANIED BY OUR TRADITIONAL CABEZUDOS AND THE “DULZANARES FOLK” GROUP. The market and its streets will be set by characters and musical animation that will take us back in time. Place: Town square.
4:00 p.m.- OPENING OF THE MARKET WITH PARADISE. Place: Market.
– CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS. Location: Camp.
– ARCHERY. Location: Camp.
16:15h.- MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
4:30 p.m.- SHOW OF STORIES AND MINUSTERS. During the performance, the members of the cultural and women’s association will distribute pestiños and sweet wine to anyone who wishes. Place: Town square.
17:00h.- SCENE WITH MEDIEVAL CHARACTERS. Place: Market.
17:30h.- FIRE AND MAGIC SHOW. During the performance, the retired and pensioners and cultural and women’s members will distribute pestiños and sweet wine to anyone who wants. Place: Town square.
18:30h.- AXARA BATUCADA BLOCO. The members of the Cultural and Women’s Association will sell raffles for a later raffle. Place: Town square.
7:30 p.m.- ROVING PERFORMANCES BY COMEDIANS AND MUSICIANS WITH MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
20:00h.- KNIGHTS PARADE THROUGH THE MARKET, where the fight will take place later. Place: Market.
8:30 p.m.-MEDIEVAL SHOW, where two contenders will face each other and later there will be participatory dances with everyone who wants to, to celebrate the triumph of the winning knight. Place: Market.
23:30h.- POPULAR VERBENA, by the musical duo “SALADOS”. During the festival there will be MEDIEVAL BINGO. Location: People’s Square.
SUNDAY, APRIL 28
11:30 a.m.- OPENING OF THE MARKET WITH PARADE.
11:45h.- CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS (crowns and helmets, medieval paintings, juggling, heraldic shields…) Location: Camp.
– ARCHERY. Location: Camp.
12:00h.- HORSE TOURNAMENT OF VARIOUS KNIGHTS SUPPORTERS OF DIVINE JUSTICE AND THE MYSTERIOUS SIDE, IN WHICH THE GUILT OR INNOCENCE OF THE COUPLE WITCHES WILL BE DECIDED. Place: Bullring.
During the show, free visit to the Couple Witch Museum, located in the Medieval Tower (Plaza de Toros). Maximum capacity 12 people.
12:15h.- MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
12:30. – CHILDREN’S FENCING. Place: Market.
1:15 p.m.- MEDIEVAL COMBAT DEMONSTRATION. Place: Market.
1:30 p.m.- MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE GROUPS: ROMANCERAS DE SACEDÓN, GRUPO ALMIREZ DE REBOLLOSA DE HITA, LOS RODETES, MARICASTAÑA AND COMPAÑÍA AND IN WHICH THE COUPLE MUSICAL GROUP WILL SERVE AS HOST.
1:45 p.m.-TRAVING PERFORMANCES BY COMEDIANS AND MUSICIANS WITH MUSICAL ANIMATION WITH DANCER. Place: Market.
3:00 p.m.- TASTING OF BROTH WITH CHORIZO, accompanied by the group “DULZANARES FOLK” and representation of different characters of the time. Location: People’s Square.
