The Arrecife City Council has scheduled a series of activities to commemorate Canary Islands Day. A celebration that in this 2021 will be restricted, in terms of events and number of participants, as the island of Lanzarote is still at alert level 2 due to the covid pandemic, where a series of health measures and capacity must be respected.
The mayoress of Arrecife, Ástrid Pérez, has invited families and citizens to maintain the symbolism of Canary Islands Day, which has its origin in the date when the Parliament of the Canary Islands met for its first session at its headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on May 30, 1983. For Pérez, "the symbolism of May 30, the day that unites us as Canarians, must be present in all homes in Arrecife, Lanzarote and the Canary Islands this coming Sunday."
The Arrecife Civic Center, in the San Francisco Javier neighborhood, will host on May 30, a day of dynamization of the Canarian stick and wooden games, organized jointly by the Culture and Sports Councils of the Arrecife City Council, respectively. The activity, which will highlight one of the games with the most tradition in the Canary Islands, will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
This is one of the many activities that the capital's Consistory has programmed to celebrate Canary Islands Day. All residents who want to participate in the event that will take place at the Civic Center of the capital must call 618 280 083 and register in advance.
“From the Area we want to value everything that identifies us culturally on such an important date in the islands as Canary Islands Day. The cultural richness that characterizes us is one of our hallmarks and it is our responsibility that all these traditions are not forgotten in future generations,” said the first deputy mayor and councilor for Culture, José Alfredo Mendoza.
“The Department of Sports wanted to do its bit to celebrate this special date by carrying out an activity that, among other things, allows us to continue appreciating and valuing traditional games such as the Canarian stick,” said the Sports Councilor, Roy González.
For its part, the Department of Youth and Citizen Participation, under the direction of Councilor Eli Merino, has been carrying out multiple workshops at the Youth House throughout this month of May, with outstanding animation from the young participants, who have respected the quotas and health measures.
For this weekend, coinciding with the big day in the Canary Islands, gofio, ceramics, crafts and Canarian ball workshops, among others, have been scheduled. The Youth House will host more workshops dedicated to the traditions of the islands this Thursday and Friday, between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Arrecife, regional headquarters of the Canarian Ball Tournament
Likewise, for the next May 29 and 30, on the weekend, one of the most traditional events held in the islands has been recovered, the regional Canarian Ball Tournament that has been held in Lanzarote, on the occasion of Canary Islands Day, and which on this occasion will have its epicenter in Arrecife. This activity is sponsored by Turismo de Arrecife, under the direction of Councilor Armando Santana.
The Lanzarote Federation of Canarian Ball and Petanque has reported that nearly 150 players from Fuerteventura (20), Gran Canaria (10), Tenerife (10), La Palma (20), El Hierro (10), and other participants from different clubs on the island of Lanzarote, will concentrate in the capital of the Island of Volcanoes, after nearly two seasons of sports stoppage as a result of the health restrictions inherent to the pandemic.
The recovery of this concentration in 2021, they highlight, "is the result of the effort, continued over time, of the Insular Federation of Canarian Ball and Petanque of Lanzarote and the Nazaret Bowling Club, to which the Canarian Federation of Canarian Ball and Petanque has provided, as has been traditional, its organizational support when requesting permits and authorizations, especially in circumstances such as the current ones, when sports-health controls, both for entering the game venue and for its development, become more essential."
In order to celebrate this Canary Islands Day Tournament in a venue open enough for the circulation of players, technicians and possible spectators with sufficient security guarantees, the place chosen has been the parking lots of the Islote del Francés. The Arrecife City Council has offered its support and collaboration for this celebration.
