The the 2012 edition of the Jazz Festival in Jávea runs from Saturday 4th August till Monday 6th August at 22.30hrs each night with the concerts being performed in the main square of old town, Plaza de la Constitución.

The Javea Jazz Festival 2012 Program:
Saturday 4th: Omer Avital Quintet
Sunday 5th: Richard Galliano Tangaria Quartet
Monday 6th: Andrea Motis & Joan Chamorro Group

All concerts start at 22.30 (10.30pm). Entry is 15euros for one night or 40euros for all 3. Tickets can be bought in all tourist information shops in Jávea.

Special Offers for the Jávea Jazz Festival
Several restaurants and hotels in Jávea participate in the Jazz Al Plat whereby you get a special 2-course menu including 2 drinks along with a ticket for the Jazz Festival at 35euros. The participating restaurants are Calima, Parador De Xábia, Piri-Piri, El Descorche, Bistro Casa Grau, Restaurante La Musa, Tapas-Bar Trinquet, El Rodat, Restaurante Bahia, Area 1, Palau, La Trastienda and La Renda

As part of the Javea Jazz festival several simultaneous activities are happening such as the Foto Jazz trip through old town, whereby you can stroll through the history of Jávea with jazz as your travel mate as the entire towns shop windows will be decorated with photographic displays.

Furthermore, if you are visiting Jávea especially to attend the Jazz Festival, Hotel El Rodat has a special offer featuring 1, 2 or 3 nights stay, dining in their excellent restaurant and tickets for the music at a special discounted price.

Finding The Jávea Jazz Festival
Parking is conveniently available just under the Plaza de la Constitucion, which is found by driving up to old town and once you pass the post office (Correo) its the first available right turn.

You can download the official program with all details here: XII-Festival-Internacional-Javea-Jazz (PDF in English, Spanish and Valenciano)

If you need more specific directions to find Plaza De La Constitucion ask for a map in at the Tourism Information shops, where you buy your ticket, alternatively a taxi from the Arenal beach is around 10euros each way.

In towns like Jávea where there is no bullring, bull running has no connection with fighting, and IMHO is substantially less dangerous or stressful for the bull than most other sports involving animals, let alone intensive farming techniques, so I have presented here what actually happens in the hope of educating people around the world regarding the differences.

The event has more in common with an American rodeo, but without the more stressful/dangerous (for the bull) aspects, such as roping, riding and bulldogging.

The bull events during Sant Joan in Jávea involve local ranchers showcasing their prize bulls, and the intent is for local men to prove their bravery (or insanity) by facing down the beast, with no intent to hurt or injure it.

Indeed for most of the time the bull is very much in control of the situation, and happily follows the herd leader back to the compound when the next rancher has his turn.

I am reliably assured that some of the guys carry rings in their hands, the idea being to try to get them on the bull’s horns, but I have never seen anyone get even close to achieving this.

I’m not particularly presenting the event as a great thing here – if anything I find it pretty dull – but as you will see in this video the greatest stress any of the bulls had to deal with was being showered with party foam (which it didn’t even seem to notice) and having sticks and t-shirts vaguely waved at it. The biggest problem seems to be the bull losing interest and wandering off, ignoring the people.

Guest post & video by Magick Temple.

But the Moors are ready to defend the city at all cost….

Uh oh, Christian girls with guns!

They use real gunpowder and each shot thunders through the air. The burning gunpowder fills the air with smoke and residue.

The Christian troops manage to push the Moors back and the final battle for the castle begins

The Muslim Moors are defeated and have to retreat as the Christians take over the castle

The new Christian rulers of Jávea enters the castle and the Moors retreat …

….after a parade of the Javea Muslim moors retreating and the victorious Christians of Jávea marching the streets in triumpf … it was time for the demons to transform the rest of the night into a havoc of fireworks fired at the crowds, correcfocs!

See all the pictures from the battle between Moors and Christians: Watch The Javea Pictures
See the pictures from the Jávea band Capital 90 playing live on the port in between the battle and Correfocs – Watch The Javea Pictures
…and a couple of more shots from Correcs – Watch The Javea Pictures

Dont forget. The final day of Moors and Christians remains. Dont miss it. Jávea Port – get there late afternoon for parades and fireworks!

Saturday evening on the Jávea port features stunning enactment of the grand battles as the Christians launched an offensive to drive the invading Moors back out to sea. You can enjoy the spectacle through the night by simply heading to the port and following the action, chilling out in the many promenade bars with tapas and refreshments. The Saturday nights events at Moors and Christians ends with Correfocs, a mad fireworks chase in the streets, and disco till the early hours of Sunday morning.

The grand finale of Moors and Christians 2012 in Xábia is reached with a parade of all participants in full traditional gear. The parade is followed by a Fireworks At Sea display that shouldn’t be missed.

It is entirely free to attend all the events of the Moors and Christians, they take place on the Jávea port and the interesting parts start as the sun sets behind Móntgo. Leaving you plenty of time to head there early evening for the Medieval market and dinner before the shows start.

The Moors and Christians fiesta in Javea takes place mainly on the Xabia port, Duanes Al Mar, and kicks off with the opening ceremony on July 14th. Followed by a live DJ playing late into the night.

Every day of the fiesta that runs till the 22th of July has activities for all ages to behold or partake in. The grand parades and battles are spectacular displays of outfits, accessories and tales from an age long gone. The main attractions of the Moors and Christians fiesta are happening on the 21st and 22nd of July in the Jávea port with magnificent street theater taking the spectators back to the decisive battles between the Moors and the Christians hundreds of years ago.

A suggestion for visiting tourists would be to consider heading over during the weekend. We would suggest heading for Moors and Christians on Friday the 20th in time have a stroll through the medieval market, catch some tapas or paella in one of the excellent restaurants on the port promenade and then staying around for the enactment of the invasion of the Moors and the Batukada samba dancing in the streets that follow.

The Saturday has similar options though the battle on this day features the counteroffensive of the Christian troops and the samba rhythms will be replaced by a night of fireworks in the streets for the Moors and Christians version of Correfocs in Xábia.

The Spanish fiesta of Moors and Christians is concluded on Sunday the 22th with a grand parade through the port starting at 8pm and a mindblowing “fireworks over the sea” show taking place at midnight.

We previously had a look at Achill Javea, Socco, Platino, La Locura, La Hacienda and Penelope in our guide to Jávea Night Clubs – Part 1

But of course, there are plenty more excellent night clubs in Jávea to serve you drinks, look for romance and get your dancing moves going.

Kandhala – Eastern Style Beach Disco
The first impression when catching a look at the Arenal Beach night club Kandhala is that it might be a trendy café decorated with Arabic or eastern inspiration. That is entirely true as Kandhala serves as a cafe and tapas bar during the day to tourists on the main beach of Jávea.

However, when night falls over the Costa Blanca Kandhala kicks off with spectacular Latin parties, live DJs and entertainment till dawn.

Kandhala is found on the first row of bars by the Arenal Beach and as such feature brilliant sea views and the ability to head outside with your dance partners to catch a breath on the beach.

Moli Blanc – Dancing In The Old Windmill
One of the oldest night clubs is Moli Blanc. It was closed for years but returned in 2011 with a freshly renovated style and plenty of spectacular parties. Built in and around an old windmill the Moli Blanc has an entirely unique and impressively classy layout. Walking into Moli Blanc feels like entering a fashion show with hard pumped dance vibes to lead the way.

The Moli Blanc night club is made up of several areas for dancing, chilling and partying. Live DJs entertain the typically rather vast crowds flocking to the old windmill for a dose of weekend nostalgia spiced up with the latest dance tracks.

Watch out for the special events at Moli Blanc. There are splendid stage shows, theme parties and performances continuously through the summer.

Moli Blanc is located on the main road between the Javea old town and the Arenal Beach, near the Solmar Car Rental, Liedl and Iceland Supermarkets. If its open, you cant miss the explosion of colors, congregations of happy Javeans waiting to get dancing as well as the  pounding dance beats streaming from the old windwill!

Atalaya Javea – High Class Ibiza Style
The Jávea night life obviously wouldnt be complete without a proper Ibiza style night club. Atalaya is it! The open space club overlooks the Mediterranean and the Arenal beach from a position in between La Locura and Achill, a few steps up from the Aqua Steakhouse.

Atalaya has it all when it comes to decoration in a modern style with great attention paid to smart lighting, impressive little details everywhere and . Little sofa corners for gangs of friends to chill out, dance floors and even a small pool running through the middle of the club (a pool that yours truly of course promptly fell into on his first visit – since then they have kindly put up fencing around it).

With the marvelous location raised above the sea, a busy calendar of parties and events, decorations of the highest class and a real Ibiza atmosphere Atalaya is in hard competition with neighboring Achill for being the most happening and pleasant night club in Javea.The obvious suggestion would be to show off your premium dance moves in both – they will most definitely both cater for a fun night out.

La Llum – Night Club in Jávea Old Town
The landmark of Jávea old town, the San Bartolome church, has a rather exciting neighbour. Right by the church square you will find the trendy Jávea night club La Llum.

La Llum is decorated like a high class club in a classic style and always sports a magnificent friendly atmosphere. The club has a variety of DJs and live music events on the calendar, primarily during weekends.

Remember, La Llum is not one of the tourist bars. The vast majority of the happy party people you encounter at La Llum in Jávea are local Spanish youth having a fun night out at the classiest place in town. Its well worth your time to try it out as well!

Not Partied Out Yet? Have a look at Jávea Night Clubs – Part 1 for more recommendations for great places to go in the Costa Blanca nightlife …

As is tradition in the football crazy country of Spain, every bar and restaurant had big screens up for the final 90minutes of the European challenge and yet again Espana came out victorious.

In Jávea victories for Spain are always celebrated thoroughly all over town.

Parades of cars covered in Spanish flags drive round town sounding their horns, the roundabouts get occupied by euphoric fans and football lovers of all nationalities stream into the streets from bodegas, cervezerias and beach bars to join in the spontaneous street party.

Spain Won Euro2012 … trashing Italy soundly 4-0. It goes without saying that the streets of Jávea are currently a chaos of jubilant Spanish football fans!

Viva Espana! Por os ellos oe … Campeones Campeones … Do you ever get tired of a good old fashioned football party?

…and indeed, the EURO2012 victory party for the Campeones Espanoles just kept on going in the beach bars, the restaurants, the night clubs and out in the streets of Jávea.

Italian supporters were few and far between in Javea on this night of fiesta and joy – but even those less ecstatic about the results couldn’t help but join the Spanish celebrations.

As always, football parties in Spain and certainly in Jávea were full of euphoria. Uncompromising happiness over the excellent performance of the Spanish team in the EURO2012 spread into the streets with hordes of peoples singing and dancing, flags and fireworks.

The weather was perfect delivering 3 days of festival bathed in sunshine. All 3 days saw huge crowds stream to the festival to try the international cuisine from 21 countries, enjoy the varied performances of flamenco, salsa, rock and dancing on stage or simply chill out in the company of friends.

As always it was entirely impossible to try out all the different cuisines available at the festival with more than 20 nationalities serving several dishes each. Yours truly had the pleasure of tasting Uruguayan asado, grotesquely giant Colombian hot dogs contained french fries and whole eggs, Greek salads with spicy meat and a rather yummy Bulgarian salad dish with some special type of bacon wrapped sausages …

But the options we´re endless .. and its already time to count down to next years influx of new challenges for the taste buds. However, it is worth pointing out that many of the nationalities represented do indeed have local restaurants, where you can go and catch some of the dishes you missed at the festival this year.

As has become a bit of a tradition at the International Festival in Jávea, the last big event on stage was Strikland. The Costa Blanca party band led by singer Adam King delivered a set full of 70s soul hits and funky vibes under the evening skies of Jávea as the 2012 version of the festival came to a close in a high spirit.

Here you can see more photos from the Jávea International Festival 2012

A final stroll through the festival as the last exotic meals we´re dished up Saturday night as the Javea International Festival 2012 was coming to a close. Perhaps the biggest edition of the festival so far with big and happy crowds eating, dancing and having fun for three straight days.

Strikland entertaining the crowd with a set of 70s funk and soul as the night fell in Jávea. Strikland with singer Adam King leading the party was the headliner of the Saturday night at the International Festival in Javea 2012:

Vamos 2013, hopefully next years International Festival in Javea will be back even bigger, stronger and with even more nationalities presenting their delicious cuisines.

Sunday, 1st of July at 20.45 in the evening the final kicks off! But if you want to get secure a table anywhere in town, hurry on down and book it right now. Every bar in Javea will be showing the game, most places will be full to the brim of football fans and the real fun is experienced in their midst.

The recommendations for where to watch the EURO 2012 in Javea still stands. On the Arenal Beach of Jávea places like Platino, An Shebeen, Lancashire Bruja, Socco and Geographic will be bursting with activity and happy Spain supporters of all nationalities.

In the port, Duanes Al Mar, an outdoor seat at Cáfe Varadero is ideal. In old town of Xabia the entire area around the post office and church will be struck by football fever and places like Bar Jose or Cervezeria Imperial are guaranteed to give you a fun night with plenty of delicious tapas

A fantastic alternative for watching the EURO 2012 final in Javea is to head down to one of the chiringuitos, the beach bars between the port and the Arenal Beach. Each of them will have huge outdoor screens right by the sea and certainly at the well established ones like Mintt, Moskito and Montgo Di Bongo there will be a huge party arranged and usually a few specials on the menu.

The beach bar strip is also where the parade of cars full of celebrating Spaniards will kick of the party that normally involves fireworks, huge crowds dancing and singing, the round abouts towards the Arenal Beach being overrun by football fans and blocked from all traffic … that is if Spain wins the final of course.

A bit of advice:

• Book a table for the final TODAY, particularly if you want to eat or just a seat
• Wanna drive home anytime soon after the game? Park on the outskirts of town.
• Want a quiet romantic dinner in town? Choose another night!

Are you German? Well. We do not really want to help the away team against the heroic Spanish campeones … but should it be a game against Germany, you will find German bars in Javea Park area where the game can be enjoyed with fellow Alemania supporters – do not worry, its perfectly fine to dress up and support a team opposing Spain. You may get teased and have some jolly Spaniards sing at you, but there is never any malice or trouble involved.

However, there is but one day of fiesta left in Jávea. The grand finale starts out with a parade through town in which everyone is dressed up in traditional Spanish dresses, candy is thrown to the crowds watching and marching bands entertain as the parade swirls through Jávea old town. It is a very nice event to bring your family to watch as you can sit comfortably in one of the many outdoor cafés, enjoy the beauty of the parade and have your kids thrilled with all the sweeties they will easily obtain. The parade starts at 7pm in the middle of old town.

Jávea Fireworks and Burning Statues
The final night of Fogueras De Sant Joan 2012 in Xábia reaches it climax with a massively impressive fireworks show. The fireworks are carefully choreographed to go of to the tunes of loud music filling the Plaza De La Constitucion – if you enjoy grand displays of fireworks, this one is not to be missed. The fireworks are followed by the burning of the statues. The giant artworks created in Jáveas main square are featuring political satire and commentary on life in Spain, but on this night they are all gonna burn.

As usual, the main events are followed by outdoor concerts, DJs and live music from stage. It is free to attend all the events and parking is easily available in the underground carpark under Plaza De La Constitucion ( Its the main big square up in oldtown. If you drive up the main road through old town, past the post office – then theres a big parking sign on the first possible right turn, as soon as you do you can see Constitucion 100metres ahead … follow the road for those 100m – and you are right at the slope/entrance to the underground carpark under Plaza De La Constitution)

Fogueras De Sant Joan 2012 in Pictures
You can catch some photos from the fiestas in Xábia at: Javea Pictures
A real popstar comes to town: Meledin in Jávea
Fiesta in Javea: Fogueras De Sant Joan 2012
Comrades and craziness: Quinta Parades and Penyas having fun
Havoc in the streets: The crazy penya parade
Don´t get stamped on: Bull Running in Jávea
Moments of joy: Fogueras De Sant Joan 2012

What Happens Next? Upcoming Fiestas in Javea
In the near future visitors to Jávea has the Xábia International Festival at the end of June and the celebrations of Moors and Christians in July to look forward to. Along with plenty of smaller fiestas in the party happy town of Jávea naturally.