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Regulació Estany des Peix

Sant Jordi Day 2014

stjordi2014 webThe celebrations that accompany Sant Jordi Day and stretch across the length of April are among the most highly-anticipated for school children and other residents of the island. These activities are organised by the Formentera Island Council's Office of Culture and Local Patrimony and by Formentera libraries, but they also include the special participation of Formentera's early-childhood and primary education centres and associations like Amics de la Biblioteca Internacional, Obra Cultural Balear a Formentera, and other groups like Ràdio Illa, Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics and the Balearic Island-based programme, Viu la cultura.

Activities will begin 11 April and extend through 2 May. Kicking off the programme is an urban art project by the first year art students of IES Marc Ferrer. Inspired by the public art creations of Aakash Nihalani, these students will recreate the artist's geometric figures which use perspective to give the feeling of three-dimensionality and movement. This particular activity will continue through 30 April at specific sites across Sant Francesc Xavier.

On the day of the holiday – 11 April – the Cultural Hall of Sant Francesc will be the site of the theatrical production El cas dels tres porquets (The case of the three little pigs), an opera included in the Viu la cultura programme and conceived for students of pre-school and primary education. The goal of the production is to put the world of opera within the grasp of young children, relying on a very special, comical version of the famous story to reach these audiences. In this version, the fable is accompanied by twenty-some arias taken from well-known operas like Don Giovanni, The Magical Flute, The Marriage of Figaro and La Clemenza di Tito from the musical genius, W. A. Mozart. For more information, visit www.caib.es.

Following the children's production, adults will have a moment just for them: a presentation of the review Formentera, a collection of the articles included in two day-long conferences of locally-based studies, entitled Jornada d'Estudis Locals Joan Marí Cardona. The Joan Marí Cardona cycle of conferences is dedicated to the promotion of research based on topics of Formentera's cultural heritage. The Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics (Institute of Balearic Studies) is also a collaborator in the event.

Activities continue Monday 14 April with a performance given at the Sant Francesc church by Taller a Veus in memoriam of Sabine Vergara. Next, the exhibition hall of the old town council (Sala d'Exposicions “Ajuntament Vell”) will host the opening of Vergara's photographic exhibition, Recuerdos del Paraíso. Vergara, a driving force in cultural spheres not to mention adept curator, worked closely with Formentera's Office of Culture. In 2009, she received the recognition of the Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics with an award for cultural productions on the island of Formentera. She passed away prematurely a few short months ago. The exhibition will be open to the public Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm, until 26 April.

The day of 15 April will attend the presentation of a group poetry publication entitled Versos per la llengua, a collection of 35 voices in poetry from the islands of Eivissa and Formentera. The presentation – organised by the Obra Cultural Balear de Formentera – will be given at the Marià Villangòmez Library and led by Isidor Marí.

The following week, on 22 April, Formentera's youngest residents will have the chance to learn to make paper roses in an arts and crafts workshop organised by the libraries of the island.

The morning of Sant Jordi Day (23 April), free book stands will be set up and stocked with books taken from the collections of Formentera libraries as well as from other of the island's local cultural associations. Visitors to the stands will have the opportunity to drop off their old second-hand books and receive others in return. This year, organisers have invited writer Iris Palomo and Formentera artist Maribel Escandell to join in on the action. Both will be on hand to sign copies of their books. Palomo's La moneda was published by Puntorojo and Escandell's Viatges nocturns, a symbiotic mix of paintings and dream sequences, was published by Mediterrània-Eivissa.

At 6 pm in the Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” artisanal centre, prizes will be awarded for participation in the fifteenth annual organisation of a joint event: the Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” Children's Bookmark Competition, and the Robert Lewis Baldon Children's Literature Contest. As the event celebrates its fifteenth year, there is a special desire among organisers to keep the memory of these two grand talents alive. Their legacies – one artistic and one literary – continue to enrich the cultural panorama of the island.

The two competitions are intended to encourage literary creation and foment good reading habits among Formentera youth. A different guiding topic is chosen every year and usually varies between the social and the environmental. This year's guiding topic is 'the phrase'.

Thursday, 24 April, the Marià Villangòmez Library will host the storytelling activity, Contes d'aquí i d'allí, to be led by David and Monma Contacontes, and for the day's final act, the Cultural Hall/Cinema will turn over its stage to Toni Gomila for use in his original production, Acorar. Gomila's show was a finalist in last year's MAX awards and additionally took home the Serra d'or de Teatre prize. Acorar is a reflection on collective identity, about the undefinable quality that defines us as a population, about what makes us – still today – a community. More about this exciting production can be found by consulting its press dossier.

Winding down the 2014 Sant Jordi Day programme, what more appropriate than a look at some of the books that will top our lists this year: on 25 April, Clara Castellotti will give a presentation on the book El botiquín de las hadas and host a talk about native medicinal plants.

The Sant Jordi 2014 activities programme will officially conclude the following Friday, 2 May, with a talk led by the author Javier Sierra titled Los secretos del maestro del Prado (The secrets of the master of the Prado), inspired by his most recent work of literature: El maestro del Prado. Sierra received international recognition in 2006 for his novel La cena secreta. For more information, and for photos, please visit http://www.javiersierra.com/w/zona-de-prensa/

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premsa@conselldeformentera.cat