Festa Major de Sant Antoni 2019

So we've had a few weeks to recover after the holiday season and now it's time for Barcelona's Festa Major neighbourhood party season to start. This pretty much goes on all year, so if you miss the first, there will be others, never fear. From Friday, January 11 to Sunday, January 20, the first Barcelona 'barri' to celebrate is Sant Antoni.

The main festivities, in all their splendor, kick off on Saturday the 12th with the most traditional activities. At 11.30am, the parade marks the start of the Festa Major, and features devils and the 'Porca', drummers, big heads and giants; and at 1pm the proclamation is by the Sant Antoni Association of Neighbours.

Dogs, cats, ferrets, fish, canaries... As Sant Antoni Abat is the protector of animals, you can bring your pets to be blessed in front of the Escola Pia de Sant Antoni school on Thursday 17 and Saturday 19 at 11am. And don't miss the big attraction of the Festa, the Tres Tombs cavalcade (Sat 19, 10.30am). More than a dozen carriages parade through the main streets of the neighbourhood, starting at C/Calabria with Paral·lel, and ending at Plaça de Sant Jaume. Also on the 19th, in C/Urgell between Floridablanca and Tamarit, you'll find a new edition of the craft beer fair, where you can taste local artisan beers in a festive atmosphere.

As tradition dictates, the party finishes up with fire – not with fireworks but with the sparks and firecrackers of the 'correfoc' ('fire run'). It leaves the Jardinets de Alguer on Sunday the 20th at 7.45pm, and if you want to participate or get a close look, remember to wear cotton clothes, comfortable shoes, and cover your neck and head for protection from stray sparks.

Tradition is terrific, but there's also space for new fun. If you like to dance, check out the open '70s funk dance class in Cotxeres Borrell (Fri 11, 6pm) and live swing at C/Calabria, 66 (Sat 12, 7pm, €3). On Saturday 19, from noon, the Barcelona LGTBI centre (C/Borrell, 22) is inaugurated, and you'll find plenty of kids' activities such as storytelling in English for children from one to three years old at Escola Pia (Sun 13, 11am); puppets in the street with the play 'El viatge més bonic del món' on the corner of Borrell and Tamarit (Sun, noon); a family play area in Cotxeres Borrell (Fri 18, 5pm-8pm); and the activity 'Enganxa't a jugar en una instal·lació artística', also in Cotxeres and for families with children up to five years old (Sat 19, 11am). You can also sign up for a family cooking workshop at the Sant Antoni–Joan Oliver Library (Sat 19, 11.30am) and a hieroglyphic writing workshop at Arqueonet (Sat 19, noon).