The Alaquàs Artichoke Festival returns stronger than ever 

30th january 024  – Despite the strong impact of the DANA, our region has once again demonstrated its strength and capacity to overcome. The celebration of the 8th Alaquàs Artichoke Festival, which will take place from 6 to 9 February, just three months after the disaster, is a clear example of this.

This year, the festival is extending its programme, which will take place in the town’s Plaza de la Constitución, and consolidates the collaboration between associations, traders and hotel and restaurant owners in order to generate a positive impact on the area. In addition to the traditional gastronomic competitions and cultural activities, it will include the participation of restaurants affected by the DANA, focusing on solidarity and economic recovery. This event is presented as an opportunity to reactivate the local economy, strengthen the associative fabric and value the identity of l’Horta Sud.

Now more than ever, it is essential to bring life back to our towns through initiatives like this. Commerce and associations are the heart of the towns, and this heart must beat stronger again. In addition, the Artichoke Festival symbolises four key aspects: the networking of the associative movement in the region, the promotion of local commerce and catering, a regional perspective open to affected municipalities such as Paiporta and, finally, its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Among the main novelties of the traditional gastronomic, cultural and commercial festival of Alaquàs is the artichoke rice competition, which will take place on Saturday morning, and the tapas competition on Sunday, where a professional jury will choose the best artichoke dish. In addition, on the Thursday before the event, the chef Óscar Torrijos, one of the first Valencian chefs to be awarded a Michelin Star, will take part in a gastronomic colloquium.

In addition, for the first time, the Association of Friends of the Artichoke Song is sharing the organisation of the festival with the Associated Traders of Alaquàs (CAdA) and the Alaquàs Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHORA). This new model allows the programme to be extended to four days, giving more prominence to crafts, dance and talks, thus reinforcing the role of the festival as a symbol of identity and union for Alaquàs and the whole of Horta Sud.

From Fundació Horta Sud, we support this initiative because we know that the collective response is the key to building a stronger, more resilient and more united region. Because, as this year’s slogan says, we are now More People than Ever.
Thanks to the Fundació Horta Sud platform, the Fiesta de la Alcachofa has been able to launch its own fundraising campaign to support businesses, associations and restaurateurs affected by the DANA. So far, 10,000 euros have been raised, with a special contribution from the Fundació, which has doubled the first 5,000 euros raised.