All set for a new edition of Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa

Catalan farms are getting ready for a new edition of Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa on the weekend of 1 and 2 October. This year the initiative will feature 170 farms, almost 200 local-produce restaurants, 140 rural accommodation providers and 90 complementary activities across the territory.

The open-doors weekend with free visits to Catalonia's farmers has been presented across Catalonia at various offices of the Territorial Services for Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, in Lleida, Tarragona, Girona, Central Catalonia and Terres de l'Ebre.

On 1 and 2 October the public will have a fresh chance to see first hand where the food we eat every day comes from and discover how seasonal, local products are made, in an edition that keeps advance booking through the website benvingutsapages.cat to make booking the free visits quicker. The project invites the public to taste seasonal, local produce, stock up and buy directly from farmers, an opportunity to win loyal new customers. The visits build a relationship that brings people closer to a world which, though essential, feels ever more distant to them.

A wide-ranging programme

Those taking part in Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa will have a wide range of educational activities to choose from. Visitors will be able to see the work of a small holding devoted to reviving saffron in Pallars Jussà, horses and goats around Molló in Ripollès, join the fourth generation of rice growers in the Delta and experience first hand the steps of winemaking with a family that has been growing vines and olive trees in Priorat for more than 200 years, among other attractions. The programme is completed by a total of 200 restaurants put forward by the project's own producers and by 140 rural accommodation providers offering special stays over the first weekend of October.

More routes this year

One of the new features of this edition of Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa is the increased number of routes , one-day or weekend-long, combining farming, food and heritage, made available to the public to make visiting easier over the first weekend of October. The Benvinguts a Pagès website lists the 16 different routes. The experiences include visits to the participating farms, learning about the history and natural heritage of their surroundings, staying at rural establishments and tasting zero-kilometre produce at the restaurants recommended by the producers themselves.

The website, the booking tool    

Benvinguts a Pagès La Festa visits can already be booked free of charge through the website benvingutsapages.cat, which makes it easy to plan and choose which farm to visit via a map, or to search by type of product.  

Organisation

Benvinguts a Pagès is an initiative of the Government of Catalonia, coordinated by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda through Prodeca and by the Department of Business and Labour through the Catalan Tourist Board. Collaborating on the project are the Alícia Foundation, Barcelona Provincial Council, Club Súper3 (CCMA), Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Youth Agency, the Department of Social Rights, the county councils, the DACC county offices, tourism consortia and offices and other organisations and associations working to raise the profile of and promote the sector.