This October long weekend, you don’t visit Gata. You live it.
Three days to discover the crafts, the flavours and the authentic Mediterranean that needs no filter.
There are places you visit. And there are places you end up photographing because everything catches your eye.
Gata de Gorgos is one of them.
If this summer you’ve seen palm-leaf baskets on Instagram, handmade hats, shops full of natural fibres and corners with that Mediterranean feel that seems made for a photo, you probably already know what we’re talking about.
But Gata didn’t invent this look yesterday. It has been living it for generations.
And from 9 to 11 October, all of this literally takes to the streets at the 21st Fira Gata al Carrer.
An especially important edition because, for the first time in its history, the Fira grows and adds an extra day. On Friday 9 October, a public holiday in the Valencian Community, Gata will kick off the celebrations from 4 pm. On Saturday and Sunday it will run all day long.
Three days. A whole town out on the streets. And the perfect excuse for a change of plans.
What’s trending now, here we’ve always done it.
Natural-fibre bags. Baskets. Hampers. Hats. Wicker décor. Palm. Esparto.
You only need to stroll past the shops on Plaça d’Espanya and along the Gata road to understand why, for decades, the town’s name has been tied to one phrase: “Gata, l’artesania” (Gata, the home of craftsmanship).
Long before all things handcrafted, natural and handmade took over social media, there were already families here working these materials with their own hands.
And they still do.
Gata is still home to a major hat-making industry, with more than ten factories and workshops where pieces are sewn, pressed, shaped and finished before travelling much further than you would probably imagine.
Artisans at the Fira
During the Fira, the shops will be open and local businesses will spill out onto the streets. You’ll be able to look, touch, buy and, above all, discover what lies behind many of the objects we now associate with the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Because buying a basket is one thing.
Buying it in the place where basket-making is part of the town’s culture is something else entirely.
Here, hands still tell stories.
Here, hands still tell stories
The Fira also lets you see something that is harder and harder to find: people making things.
For real.
No industrial processes hidden behind a label that says “handmade”.
Throughout the weekend there will be demonstrations, workshops and gatherings around some of the area’s traditional crafts.
On Saturday, the Encontre de Llata will be dedicated to palm weaving, and on Sunday it’s the turn of the Encontre de Boixets, with dozens of people working on traditional bobbin lace.
Hands plaiting palm leaves. Threads crossing over one another. Baskets that start out as little more than a few leaves. Techniques passed down from generation to generation.
You can come and see it.
You can ask questions.
You can even learn.
And yes, you’ll probably want to get your phone out too.
But this time, the photo has a story behind it.
Come hungry.
Because if there’s one thing Gata takes as seriously as its crafts, it’s eating well.
Here, heritage is something you can taste too.
Butchers and delicatessens with more than a century of history still make cured sausages from family recipes handed down through generations, using traditional spices and methods.
Sobrassada, blanquet, botifarra, llonganissa and other cured sausages are part of a culinary tradition linked even to the Majorcan settlers who arrived in these lands centuries ago.
And this story keeps evolving.
Local artisans are also reviving and experimenting with cured sausages made from Marina Alta sheep, bringing together food, farming and the land.
During the Fira you’ll be able to meet them and taste their products right there in the street.
Wine, craft beer, cheese, coques… and more
Because this is only the beginning.
There will be wines from local producers, some of them natural; beer brewed by hand in Gata; cheese and sausage tastings; honey; local produce and dishes made with Blat de la Marina, the area’s traditional wheat, now recovered and ready to take its place in our cuisine once again.
And then there are the bakeries.
In Gata, recipes that taste of village life are still going strong.
Traditional sweets, breads and, of course, coques from the Marina, the local flatbreads: one of those simple dishes that explain better than any speech how people have eaten for generations in this corner of the Mediterranean.
Over the three days of the Fira you can order them, taste them and keep exploring the streets.
Because here, food won’t be shut away inside a pavilion.
It will be everywhere. A whole town turned into a Fira.
This is probably what makes Gata al Carrer so different.
You don’t come to walk into a fairground. You come to walk into Gata.
The shops spill out onto the street. The artisans get to work. The ovens are fired up. Bars and restaurants prepare their menus. There’s music, activities, workshops, gatherings and people strolling from one place to the next.
The Fira and the town blend together until they’re practically one and the same.
And that means you can come without rushing.
Wander around.
Step into a shop.
Find that hat nobody else has.
Taste a sausage made from a century-old recipe.
Enjoy a craft beer.
Discover how palm leaves are woven.
Share some coques.
Take a few photos.
And keep on walking.
This 9 October, try a different plan.
This year, the 21st Fira Gata al Carrer starts one day earlier.
And the timing couldn’t be better.
Friday 9 October is a public holiday across the Valencian Community, so if you still don’t know what to do, here’s an idea:
Where: Gata de Gorgos, Marina Alta, Alicante.
The plan: crafts, food, shopping, music, workshops, tradition and plenty of Mediterranean spirit.
Come with friends.
Come as a couple.
Come with the family.
Or simply come because you’re looking for somewhere different to spend the day.
Some things become trends thanks to Instagram.
In Gata, we’ve been doing them all our lives.
Gata is waiting for you on the streets.