ONCE MORE, A CRAFT FAIR ALL SUMMER LONG, IN JÁVEA PORT

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Last year Amata held its first summer market in Jávea port. And not just the usual collection of stands with aged and unkempt hippies offering genuine hand made bracelets made by poor peasants in India or Peru, but good quality original craftwork lovingly and carefully made by real craftsmen and women living and working in Spain. Last year’s market was sponsored by the local association of shopkeepers, who invited Amata once more – this year there will be more stands offering more choice.

The market starts on the 20th of June and continues till 14 September. Stalls will open up at 7 pm and close at midnight so as to catch the last Pumpkin. Last year there were at the most some 20 stalls (there wasn’t room for more) whereas this year up to 30 stalls can spread out over two areas – the first being the area around the Red Cross hut (near the end of the Avenida Jaime I) and the second nearby on the Plaza Almirante Bastarreche, about 100 meters towards the harbour.

The fair is managed by Amata – the regional craft association – which firmly believes that craft work and applied art can only continue to exist in Spain if the stalls on the street markets sell nothing but good quality goods. That’s not easy these days, what with all the cheap hand made goods imported from Third World countries, which is why Amata organises markets whereby aficionados can buy original work directly from the person who made that particular piece.

Amata is fussy about selecting people to take part, to ensure that such quality is maintained and to make sure that there is a decent variety of materials instead of two dozen stalls with bead jewelry and printed scarves. So there are people with carved and turned wood, engraved glass, ceramics, paintings and sculptures, leather bags as well as designer T-shirts and original knitwear. Above all, these people can often prepare an original to suit the exact taste of the individual visitor, since most of the stallholders bring along their tools and materials and work either beside the stall or elsewhere during the day.

Some of the stall holders live in the area, others come, often with their family, to spend a few weeks or even months by the sea. Not everybody spends the whole summer on the fair, so that each week there will be different people with different goods. Plus there will be street musicians, jugglers and puppeteers come to entertain the crowd two or three evenings each week and pass the hat to make a living.

If you fancy a stroll along the water front, have a drink or a meal and take the opportunity to look at some really interesting craft work, drop by – any evening between 7 and 12, every day of the week, along the Paseo Marítimo in Jávea Puerto. If you want to know more about Amata, look at www.amata.es (good for your Spanish, but the web site is also in English) or ring Elvira on 639 979 678 – she speaks excellent English

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