Pretty paisa boys everywhere, gorgeous weather and LOTS of flowers, what more could you possibly want?
Medellin’s Feria de las Flores is an annual festival that takes place end of July/early August and takes over the entire city. It started in 1957 as a party to celebrate and honour Colombia’s massive flower industry.
Today it has grown to become one of the country’s most popular festivals – a 10 days spectacle of parties, live music concerts, antique car parades, orchid competitions and more.
We came to the 60th Feria de las Flores in 2017 and absolutely loved it. If you’re heading to Colombia in the summer, we definitely recommend putting the Medellin Flower Festival on your bucket list. Here’s 5 reasons why…
A Parade Like No Other
The climax of the festival is the Desfile de Silleteros parade on the final day. It’s kind of like a gay pride parade, but instead of gays, it commemorates the labourers who used to hoist wooden silletas on their backs to transport their goods into town.
And it features flowers. Lots and lots of flowers!
Participants in the parade decorate wooden silletas with elaborate flower arrangements, which they carry on their backs for everyone to marvel at. Alongside it are commercial trucks, dancers and drummers.
The parade attracts thousands of people from all across Colombia who gather to watch this colourful procession pass through central Medellin. Everyone was smiling, euphoric and enjoying the party mood that reverberated across the entire city.
By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys