Barcelona Degusta 2011

Are you a lover of good food? Are you interested in food? Do you like cooking? Come to Barcelona Degusta and discover new flavours, add to your recipe book, surprise your family on Christmas Day, learn about new culinary techniques…

At Barcelona Degusta you’ll find small-scale producers of food specialities and leading brands, the best designations of origin and the latest in kitchen equipment. You’ll also be able to discover the new gastronomic trends, update your recipe book and attend cooking demonstrations.

Over one hundred exhibitors will be bringing you their new delicatessen products, organic foodstuffs and high-end products. A range of demonstrations, workshops and talks have also been organised, not to mention the “Bulevard dels restaurants“, the ‘Restaurant Boulevard‘, where the chefs from the city’s top-end restaurants will be serving special tapas.

Barcelona Degusta demonstrates its solidarity through a firm commitment to recycling the surplus food and drink at the show. The show is providing the Food Bank Foundation with a stand for collecting food and drink during the two days of the show. This food will be distributed by over one hundred volunteers from the Foundation to the most disadvantaged people in the city of Barcelona and its province.

Fira Barcelona -> Av Reina Maria Cristina, 2 | Sants-Montjuïc

Solidarity Event in support of Children with Heart Disease

If you’d like to give a helping hand to children with heart disease, why not go to Tibidabo this Saturday?

For the eighth consecutive year, the amusement park will be playing host to an event entitled: ‘El cor ens demana festa’ [Hearts call out for a party] in support of children with heart problems. It is organised by the Catalan Aid for Children with Heart Disease Association (AACIC) in collaboration with Barcelona City Council.

From noon on there will be games and workshops organised at various points in the park, with performances and surprises planned for the main event.

So visitors can collaborate with the association, a scarf has been designed that can be purchased for 6€ at the different park entrances on the day. Scarves will give free admission to Tibidabo for every child under the age of 16.

Children over the age of 16 who present the scarf at the ticket offices can buy entrance tickets for every attraction and show in the park for 18.20€. Without the discount admission is 25.20€.

Parc d’Atraccions del Tibidabo -> Pl Tibidabo, 3 | Sarrià-Sant Gervasi

IV Japan Weekend Barcelona

You can immerse yourself in the newest, latest Japanese youth culture, in other words all things manga, without leaving Barcelona. Japan Weekend, which is being held at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya this time around, offers you video games, anime, music and all kinds of competitions, from cosplay to karaoke and para para.

This year’s guests include the international cosplayer Lina Lau and the Esprit d’Air band. You will also find all kinds of workshops and activities for having a really good time.

It is the event dedicated to the world of manga and all aspects surrounding it. This translates into much anime and manga, video games, Japanese culture and tradition, superheroes, technology and cinema but above many activities, contests, games, courses, workshops, exhibitions and concerts.

All in 2 days for spectacular not to be bored a single second.

Palau de Congressos de Catalunya
Address: Av Diagonal, 661

Museu Picasso’s Knowledge and Research Centre

With the smell of fresh paint in the air and the future library’s shelves still empty, the Museu Picasso has presented its Knowledge and Research Centre, a new building located just next to the medieval mansions that have, until now, housed the museum’s activities.

The building, which received funding to the tune of €6.7 million, will open soon but gradually, with school activities the first to move there and then the library and archives, which will be on the second floor.

The first floor of the centre, designed by the architect Jordi Garcés, will have a series of four multipurpose spaces intended for workshops, talks, seminars and master’s-degree courses. The basement will have facilities and storage spaces for non-artistic objects, among other things.

Thanks to the new building the Museu Picasso will now have 13.000 square metres at its disposal. The plan is to re-organise the spaces freed up with the launch of the new centre.

In addition, the museum will gain a new entrance on Plaça de Jaume Sabartés, though the ticket offices will not be moved from their current location for the time being. This will help to reduce crowding on Carrer de Montcada.

Location -> c/ Montcada 15-23

Children cook workshops

Let children touch, mash, observe, smell and taste food up without any restrictions. This is the method used by Eulàlia Fargas, who runs “Cuina per a nens“, cooking workshops for children and teenagers held at the Boqueria market.

The aim is straightforward and sure to be of interest to many mums and dads: for children to learn to feed themselves in a healthy and varied manner, so they’ll able to make their own judgement in the future when it comes to eating.

In a fun and engaging way, Eulàlia Fargas shares her knowledge with the children and the pleasure of experimenting with the vast range of food we have in our country, to arouse their curiosity and make them aware of all the different kinds of food.

Young children are involved in the whole process of making the recipe, with a little bit of help. In that way they learn about what they eat, taste products in season, study an animal’s anatomy and even listen to stories about the origin of food. And, to round that off, every one of them can savour what they have cooked at home.

Teenagers, on the other hand, start learning to be independent in the kitchen and go through the whole process, from the market place to the dining table. They prepare, cook and then eat everything they have cooked, to discover the pleasure in cooking and educating the palate lies in eating better.

From Núñez i Navarro Hotels, with nine hotels in the center of Barcelona, we take this last post of the year to wish the best for this new year 2010!