For the first time in history, a large part
of Ibiza will be covered by a sheet of ice. This is not a
freak meteorological condition but part of Ibiza Town's Christmas
activities.
Inside a 1,800 square metre temperature
regulated marquee there will be 1,200 square metre ice-skating
rink.
This temporary rink will be situated in
the car park in calle Murcia and will be opened to the public
from 15th December to 15th January.
For the first time, this will enable Ibiza
residents to enjoy the thrills and spills of ice-skating.
The rink will be opened every day from 10:30am
to 13:30pm and in the evening from 16:30pm to 22:00pm and
for 1,000 pesetas (6 Euros) an hour you will be able to hire
skates and have a go on the ice.
The Town Hall of Ibiza is spending 22 million
pesetas on the temporary ice-skating rink, which will include
a café and a first aid post.
Gesa (Ibiza's Electricity Company) will
supply the electricity to the marquee free of charge and Pacha
discotheque will supply and equip the marquee with a state
of the art sound and lighting system.
The Lord Mayor of Ibiza Town, Xico Tarrés,
expressed how content he was with this new project and hoped
that, if successful, it could be repeated every year.
Any money made this year will be used to
benefit sporting facilities on the island.
This is one of many projects Ibiza has planned
for the holiday season.
This years festivities will commence on
Thursday 6th December with the switching-on of the Christmas
lights, the opening of the Christmas craft fair in Vara de
Rey (Ibiza's Town Square) and, on a special stage erected
close to the craft market, the Red Cross will sponsor a musical
concert.
On 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st at 17:30,
Christmas carols will be sang by the children's choir of Ibiza
in Can Ventosa Cultural Centre.
On 22nd December at 12:00, the inauguration
ceremony of the huge nativity scene will take place in Vara
de Rey.
At 10:30 in the morning on 28th December,
a treasure hunt will commence from Dalt Vila (Ibiza Old Town).
This is a fun day out for all the family with the winners
receiving prizes in the evening.
New Year's Eve celebrations will take place
in the Recinto Ferial (Ibiza's Fair and Exhibition Centre),
where activities for all ages will take place.
There will be free entrance to the Recinto
Ferial and two orchestras, one from Ibiza and the other from
Valencia, will entertain revellers through the night until
it's time for the traditional breakfast of "chocolate
y churros" (drinking chocolate accompanied by a sweet
finger pastry). This year the breakfast will be brought forward
from 8 o'clock in the morning to 5 o'clock in the afternoon
so that younger members of the family won't have to stay up
so late.
Then the big one that children of the island
all look forward to is the procession of the "Reyes Magos"
(Three Kings) from the port of Ibiza on the night of 5th January.
This is traditionally the night when children
all over Spain receive presents from the Three Wise Men.
Last year, the procession, which makes its
way from the port of Ibiza through the town, consisted of
350 people and several floats.
Sandra Mayans, Public Festivities councillor,
said: "This year there will be up to 450 people participating
and we are spending more money on floats and decorations".
In all, Ibiza Town Hall will spend a total
of 24 million pesetas on this year's festivities.
Vara De Rey Closed To Traffic
As most of the Christmas activities are concentrated in Vara
de Rey, Ibiza Council inaugurated a new project last weekend
designed to turn the town square into a safer place.
Vara de Rey remained closed to all traffic
from 14:00pm on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.
According to Xico Tarrés, Ibiza Town's
Lord Mayor, the aim of the new project is to create a proper
meeting place for Ibiza residents without the disturbance
of cars or motorbikes.
The architects who designed Vara de Rey
in the 1970s wanted to pave the whole area, blocking entrance
to all traffic.
With this new project, Ibiza's Council will
have the chance to decide whether blocking the Town Square
off to traffic on a permanent basis would benefit the residents.
So far Ibiza's Council feels that it's beneficial
that the residents for walking, cycling, skating, etc are
using the centre of the town.
For the time being, Vara de Rey will remain
closed to traffic every weekend until the Council makes a
permanent decision.
Trees Destroyed In Ses Salines
The Public Minister has denounced the destruction of pine
and sabina trees in the area of Can Carabassó, which
is in the Nature Reserve of ses Salines and is classified
as a highly protected area.
A 50 year-old man is now facing up to two
years in jail as a result of his actions. He employed a company
in February this year to clear an area of 6,000 to 7,000 square
metres in order to build a car park beside the restaurant
"Mar y Sal".
In total 66 pine trees and 61 sabina trees
destroyed but as the Public Minister says: "This is not
only about the loss of the trees; it will have a negative
effect on the whole environment".
It's good to see that the Public Minister
is taking action against people who indiscriminately destroy
the natural beauty of the island.
The man will appear in court in the near
future.
Economical Help After Weather Destruction
With so much damage caused in the recent storms, the Home
Councillor, Josep María Costa, held a meeting on Monday
3rd December with representatives from most of Ibiza's Town
Halls to discuss how much money is needed to repair the damage
caused by the period of extreme weather in November.
The Home Councillor met with the Lord Mayors
of San Antonio and San Juan and a representative from the
Ibiza Town Hall. The Lord Mayors of San José and Santa
Eulalia failed to attend the meeting.
Each person who suffered serious loses as
a result of the storms has to present an application form
to the Consell Insular (Island Council) before 20th December
so that the Town Halls can assess their claims.
The Town Halls agreed on how difficult it
is checking every single case and the great amount of time
this will consume.
The delegates at the meeting agreed with
the Consell Insular that a provisional sum of 7,900 million
pesetas is set-aside for immediate use.
The Home Councillor will ask the Government
to approve this figure by next week so that people can start
getting back to normal.
"We hope that now the Government will
realise that the Balearic Isles need an emergency plan in
place to deal with future extreme weather conditions",
said the Home Councillor, who will be meeting with representatives
from Cataluña, Valencia, Balearics and Canary Isles
on 12th December to discuss future measures against extreme
weather conditions.
New Ideas For Old Bull Fighting Ring
The Town Hall of Ibiza is preparing a second project for the
space where the old bull-fighting ring used to stand, after
the first project to turn it into shops failed.
The Sports Councillor, Roque López,
explained: "The Town Hall doesn't want the old bull ring
to be turned into a building specializing in one thing. Our
idea is to create an open space where different activities
can take place".
The area will be partly dedicated to sporting
activities for children.
Roque López says that "whatever
is done to the old bullring will be better than it is now".
Lets hope that they can come to a decision
soon and commence work as this area has long been a black
spot in Ibiza Town.
Rias Baixas
When our most experienced colleague paid us a visit on the
island last month and we all met for the first time, we went
to his favourite restaurant Rías Baixas in San Antonio
and what a good choice it was.
Since our visit, Rías Baixas has
been selected as one of the 25 best restaurants in Spain and
awarded a gold plate by the Radio Turismo (Radio of Tourism).
I would like to congratulate Rías
Baixas on receiving this award and also congratulate Sinclair
on his ability to pick out a top-class restaurant. Well done
to both of you!
Louise Wright
louisewright@ibizahistoryculture.com
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