The Pessebre de Sorra of Vila-seca, la Pineda Platja celebrates its 25th birthday

This year the traditional Pessebre de Sorra (Sand Crib) on La Pineda beach, in Vila-seca, celebrates its 25th birthday. And it does so with many new activities by the Nomad Festival, the travelling festival that this year is organising its first Nomad Christmas on the Pineda beach.

This morning a press conference was held to present the programme for the Christmas and Epiphany festivities, which began yesterday, Sunday 1 December, and the 25th edition of the monumental sculptural ensemble.

The first of the events in the programme will be the beginning of the construction of the 25th edition of the Sand Nativity Scene, in the Parc del Pinar de Perruquet in La Pineda, which is expected to be open to visitors and, therefore, completely finished, from the 8th of December.

On its 25th anniversary, the Pessebre de Sorra will grow in size and volume. Thus, the sculptures will occupy a surface area of 150 linear metres and more than 500 m³ of sand will be used to erect them, almost twice as much as in previous editions.

9 international sculptors and 2 Catalan sculptors will be in charge of shaping the sand to obtain a unique and different sculptural group year after year, achieving a surprising result for visitors that is only revealed as the sculptures are erected.

As every year, next to the sculptures there will be the traditional craftsmen’s market, from 11.00 to 19.00h and the traditional carol singing will be organised by the Cantaires de la Pineda and the Coral Nova Unió, on Friday 6th December at 12.00h.

Nomad Nadal

One of the main novelties of this year’s Pessebre de Sorra is the first Nomad Nadal. The popular travelling festival Nomad will make a stop on 14, 15, 21 and 22 December in the Parc del Pinar de Perruquet with a full programme of activities, such as a Christmas market, a gastronomic area with food trucks, workshops and family shows, live musical performances and a charity musical bingo in aid of the victims of the DANA storm in Valencia.

‘The union of these two successful brands, the Pessebre de Sorra and the Nomad, is a great step forward in making the Christmas festivities more dynamic and offering activities for all ages’, explained councillor Lluïsa Clavé.

In this sense, on Saturday 14 December, at 11.00h, there will be a family Christmas workshop ‘Photo frame, Tió de Nadal and reindeer’; at 12.00h, the puppet show ‘Christmas Snow’ with the CIA Kali Teatre; at 14. 00h the Christmas musical bingo for singing and dancing; at 15.00h the family workshop ‘3 en raya, Tió de Nadal y frasco de nieve’ and at 17.30h Albert Martínez Band will perform a concert of funk rock music to pass the cold.

On Sunday, 15th December, at 11am, the family workshop ‘Tió magnet, Tió de Nadal and jar of snow’; at 12 noon, carol concert ‘Ahora te lo explico’ with Jordi Tonietti; at 2pm, musical bingo; at 3pm, workshop ‘Tió de Nadal, photo frame and hanging for the tree’ and at 5.30pm, there will be a concert of rock versions with trio format and female voice ‘Trambolicos’.

On Saturday, 21st December, at 11.00h, the workshop ‘Tió de Nadal, photo frame and 3 in a row’ will take place; at 12.00h, the clown show ‘The light of Christmas’ with the CIA Toque de Gresca; at 14. 00h, Christmas bingo; at 15.00h, family Christmas workshop ‘Tió de Nadal, snow jar and reindeer’ and at 17.30h, tribute to the great female voices of history with the concert ‘Lady Hits’. El último día del Nomad Nadal, el domingo 22 de diciembre, a las 11.00h tendrá lugar el taller “Tió de Nadal, colgante para el árbol, imán Tió”; a las 12.00h, espectáculo de cuentos propios con interacción del público “Explícame una Navidad”; a las 14.00h, bingo musical de Navidad; a las 15.00h, taller “Tió de Nadal y piña para el árbol” y a las 17.30h, versiones de rock de todos los tiempos “Silver Monkeys”.

This year, next to the sculptures, the Royal Tent of Their Majesties the Three Wise Men of the East will once again be installed. It will be on Saturday, 14th December, from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm, when children will be able to hand in their letters in La Pineda. The tent will also be located in Vila-seca, on 21, 22, 26, 28 and 29 December, and in La Plana, on 15 December, from 10.00 to 14.00h.

All the events of the Nativity Scene, as well as the rest of the Christmas and Epiphany activities in Vila-seca can be consulted on the websites www.lapinedaplatja.info and www.vila-seca.cat.