The first Raimat Arts Festival is here!
The event blends music, art, food and wine in a groundbreaking gathering designed to drive new economic, sustainable and social projects in Terres de Lleida.
The first Raimat Arts Festival is to be held on 15-16 October. This event is an initiative by the Raimat Lleida Community Foundation in partnership with the legendary Napa Valley Festival.
The Raimat Arts Festival is not just another festival as its standout feature is harnessing the power of arts and culture to transform the local area and generate worthwhile new projects for Terres de Lleida. It will showcase the efforts of local winemakers, farmers and businesses to roll out new economic and sustainable initiatives coupled with social projects.
The setting for this first festival is Raimat Castle, a 12th century historic building declared a Site of National Cultural Interest and nestled in DO Costers del Segre vineyards. The Raimat wineries are the hosts of this wine, food and art event where around 1,500 people will taste wines from the DO Costers del Segre paired with local gourmet produce.
They will also have the chance to enjoy performances by international artists including guitarist Pablo Sainz Villegas, lyric soprano Serena Sáenz, violinist Francisco Fullana and cellist Sophia Bacelar. All of them will play classical pieces by composers such as Isaac Albéniz, Enric Granados and Manuel de Falla.
Raimat Castle / David del Val
Winemaking excellence, the value of tradition and a historical legacy is the bond between the wineries of the Napa Valley in California and Raimat in Lleida. This close relationship and partnership dates back to the 1970s when the Raventós family, the founders of Raimat, travelled to this valley in the United States to learn about and take on board the innovative technologies they were using in their vineyards. This connection has led them to twin the two events to take their passion for sustainable viticulture and commitment to the local area to the next level.
A sustainable festival
The Raimat Arts Festival seeks to set the standard for sustainable events and so it is working closely with specialists in environmental, economic and social impact monitoring. They will measure the event’s performance with a purpose-built tool which will gather all the data and make it possible to identify shortcomings and potential improvements in the festival’s management.
In its first year, the festival will draw on renewable energies, minimise waste and commit to serving local produce. The long-term goal is to become a sustainable, constructive and rewarding festival for Terres de Lleida. The festival will also feature a programme of activities open to the public in the castle and in other towns around Lleida.