The Fira de Novembre is one of the must-attend events on the calendar in Vilanova i la Geltrú. The main commercial event of the year brings the whole town out onto the streets, bringing together companies and organisations from all over the Garraf and Penedès regions.
After two very difficult years marked by the pandemic, the Fira de Novembre is back to 100% this year. From 11 to 13 November, the action returns to the public space of Vilanova and the forecasts are that the large numbers of thousands of visitors that the fair used to have every year before COVID-19 will be repeated. Watch out, because the 2019 edition had around 100,000 visitors.
In 2022, the multi-sector fair will once again be the perfect excuse to showcase, socialise and have fun discovering the full range of economic, cultural and leisure activities on offer in Vilanova i la Geltrú. The focus remains on the sector of innovation, knowledge and technology applied to different areas of everyday life. But the Fira arrives at its 31st edition in the modern era full of surprises, ready to adapt to new trends.
New exhibitor map
The return to the on-site format is accompanied by changes in the Fira’s different locations. This year the trade and local economic fabric stands will be located on the upper section of the Rambla, as far as Avinguda Francesc Macià. At Col-legi street there will be the city’s organisations and, from this point to the railway line, there will be stands for service companies.
In the Plaça de la Vila there will be the VNG Innova area, dedicated to future projects for a more sustainable city, and in the Baix a Mar park there will be the motor area.
During the three days there will be exhibitions of classic cars and motorbikes, and there will also be Formula 1 prototypes and racing motorbikes from the Vilanova i la Geltrú UPC Campus E3 Team, a global local engineering project. The youngest children, from the age of three, will be able to enjoy discovering drifting with the electric mini karts.
Expectations are high, because almost half of the participants, 44%, will be making their debut this year at the big fair in Vilanova. There will be food, automotive, commerce and services companies, entities, institutions and companies, many of them excited to present themselves for the first time at the Fira de Novembre.
The Fira de Novembre is the biggest in the Garraf and Penedès: in the last edition before the pandemic, in 2019, it brought together more than 100,000 visitors.
Three spaces and a tapas route for foodies
As for the good food that is always the star of the Fira de Novembre, the traditional food outlets will go from the railway line to the monument to Francesc Macià, where there will also be a small stage and six food trucks. On the other hand, the food and wine area will be in Plaça de les Neus, with 14 food and drink tents and another stage for live music performances.
Finally, in Plaça Soler i Carbonell there will be a space dedicated to 0-kilometre products, craft beers and family activities, as well as an exhibition of carriages. And on the 11th you’ll be able to buy fish at a traditional “enchanted” auction, with the sellers singing the fish as they used to do in the old days.
In addition, the Fira de Novembre weekend coincides with the start of Destapa Vilanova, a tapas route that brings together local gastronomy and points of tourist or emblematic interest in the city. Each tapa is accompanied by a glass of local wine, chosen for the occasion by each of the eleven participating bars and restaurants.
The Agency of Secrets, an augmented reality game
The great novelty of this year’s VNG Innova space is the Agency of Secrets, an interactive and gamified experience that allows visitors to get to know Vilanova i la Geltrú through ten analogue, digital and virtual reality games.
Become an agent of the Agency of Secrets and discover the best kept mysteries of the city through ten different but interconnected games. Some require walking routes, others search for hidden symbologies in the streets or visit places that are invisible without virtual reality goggles. Together they form a fictional story inspired by real events linked to the history of Vilanova i la Geltrú.
This is a pioneering project, the largest gamified tourism promotion project in Spain, and promises to be a great immersive experience for the whole family.
Vilanova rolls out the red carpet for visitors
La Rambla will act as the backbone of the Fira de Novembre 2022, an idea that the official poster for the event aims to convey. The design celebrates the return to the origins, the exhibition in the street, showing as a graphic element a DNA chain that represents La Rambla and at the same time refers to the concepts of innovation, knowledge and technology that the fair wishes to represent.
In addition, to pay tribute to the true protagonists of the Fira de Novembre, this year the Rambla will have a section with a red carpet, special lighting and a decoration with photographs of emblematic places in the city. This VIP area in the style of the big film festivals will be 42 metres long and will be installed at the height of Avinguda Francesc Macià. It will undoubtedly be a must-see selfie spot.
All so that visitors can enjoy yourselves as the real protagonists that you are. The organisers wanted to express in this way how they have missed the public over the last two years.
Activities for all tastes
The Fira de Novembre’s programme of activities is more packed than ever with all kinds of proposals.
- If you are looking for a new sport to practice, you can try fencing, rugby or golf with different introductory activities.
- If you are passionate about technology and gadgets with your family, you can fly drones, learn how to create video games, build virtual reality scenarios, draw with a computer…
If you want to discover Vilanova’s artistic and cultural heritage, during the Fira all the city’s museums are free of charge, and you can also get discounts for the shows promoted by Escena Vilanova.
This year there are more exhibitors than ever, and 44% of them are making their first appearance at the Fira.
2022: the year of the relaunch of Fira de Novembre
The Fira de Novembre 2022 should be a turning point and a relaunch of the country’s leading multi-sector fair thanks to the new model agreed between the city’s political, social and economic agents. In the words of the mayoress, Olga Arnau: “We continue to focus on the innovation sector, knowledge and technology applied to different areas of everyday life.
We are moving forward with a new Fira format to adapt to new trends and, above all, to reinforce the positioning of our Fira de Novembre not only as an economic benchmark within the Penedès region but also to project Vilanova i la Geltrú as the economic capital of the country“.
We look forward to seeing you in Vilanova i la Geltrú this Novembrer – don´t miss it!
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