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FLOWER FESTIVAL IN MEDELLIN 2004

Flower Festival in Medellin – Feria de las Flores

The flower festival in Medellin is perhaps the largest folkloric festival held in Colombia after the Barranquilla Carnival in January.
The festival was born in the 1950s to celebrate the importance of the flower growers in the region near Medellin. Cut flowers are one of the most important agricultural export industry in Colombia. Currently Colombia supplies about 70% of the flowers sold in the United States.
Originally the festival was just a parade of flower growers mostly from the Santa Elena county, they would make large flower arrangements and walk a few blocks in the downtown area showing their products to the people gathered along the streets but eventually the parade grew and the flower growers started making more elaborate flower arrangements until now when the public can see huge flower arrangements called “silletas�?, some of them so huge that have to be carried by three or four people. Some silletas measure up to 4 meters (13 ft.) in diameter. The flower arrangements are very varied, some are just intricate arrangements of flowers, others depict landscapes, faces, diverse figures. Nowadays the flower parade includes hundreds of flower growers carrying Silletas, dance groups, bands playing local music. The public stands on the sidewalks along the route.
The flower festival has become the most important festival in Medellin. This year the festival starts on July 30th (friday) and ends on August 8th (sunday).
The Flower Parade takes place on August 7th (a national holiday) and thousands of tourists from all over Colombia and foreign visitors attend the celebration. There are even flights from Miami and New York full of Colombians who come just to attend the celebration, those flights are called the “Flower Flights�? and include some special activities on board.
But the flower festival is not just the parade, it´s an entire week of different activities and events that take place in and near Medellin.
Some other interesting events are the Horse Parade (July 31st) which is already listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest horse parade in the world, the Orchid – Birds and Flowers exposition at the botanical gardens (all week, July 29th – August 8th), the Old Car Parade (in which people driving the old cars use costumes of the year the car was made, people can even see a couple of Model T Fords –August 8th), the Riding Horse Show (August 6th), the children´s flower parade (July 31st), The Music Band Festival (July 30th – August 1st), Arrieros – Mulas y Fondas (a street festival of typical food, drinks and activities from neighboring towns, at the La 70 street, August 7th), San Alejo handcrafts market (July 31st, Parque Bolivar).
During the week (July 30th – August 8th) there are “tablados�? in several streets in the city, Tablados are street parties, the streets are closed and there are bands playing for the public.
If you´re intereste in attending the Flower Festival Week or just the weekend of Agust 6th – 8th when the main events take place, please make your reservation at a local hotel as soon as you can otherwise it won´t be easy to find a room. Most travel agencies in the US and in Colombia have hotels available in Medellin, from the Intercontinental to cheaper ones.

By ColombiaBoard on Jul 25, 2004, 09:59 in Friendly Talkzone.

mariaencolombia says on Jul 25, 2004, 10:21:

medellin Thanks for all the information, esp. re. the flower festival - can't wait!

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Fred-NC says on Jul 25, 2004, 15:44:

thanks for the information! Sounds wonderful! I'll be there for most of the week. If I get some good photos, I'll share them with other PBH aficionados here.

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gatorgt says on Jul 9, 2005, 07:45:

Flower Festival Dates Im looking at my calendar I see that August 8th is a Monday and not a Sunday as mentioned above. Can anyone verify the actual dates of the Festival as I am trying to plan a trip around it. I appreciate all the info given but just want to make sure about the dates. Thanks

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poco says on Jul 9, 2005, 09:15:

Sometimes I forget to look at the YEAR posted Thought I'd seen this before.

This is the schedule for 2005

"Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent" - Isaac Asimov

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drknstormy says on Jun 14, 2007, 22:13:

Going in August i am going to medellin aug 9th for 10 days and i so excited. since that is a lot of time i would like to see other areas of the country especially the beach so which beach is the nicest to go visit for 2 days out of my trip? and what are the ways to get there? also what do the chicks wear down there. i dont want to look out of place!! i appreciate the help!!!

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drknstormy says on Jun 14, 2007, 22:13:

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