Jijona is famous for turrón, but this weekend another of the town’s sweet traditions takes centre stage.
From Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October, the town celebrates its Moros y Cristianos de los Heladeros, (Ice Cream Makers Festival). It’s a festival with a rather unusual story behind it.
The celebrations grew from Jijona’s long connection with artisan ice cream makers. Many local families traditionally spent months away from home making and selling ice cream elsewhere in Spain, returning to Jijona once the busy season ended.
The festival became a chance to come home, catch up with family and friends and celebrate their roots. That homecoming remains at the heart of the event today.
Why Jijona has a festival for ice cream makers
Jijona’s connection with ice cream is easy to overlook beside its internationally famous turrón industry.
For generations, however, local heladeros have travelled around Spain to make and sell artisan ice cream, often spending much of the year away from their hometown.
The October Moros y Cristianos celebrations developed around their return.
It also explains why Jijona effectively gets two bites at the Moros y Cristianos cherry. The town holds its main festivities in August, followed by this second celebration connected specifically with the ice cream-making community.
Friday gets the party started
The first parades take place on Friday 23 October as the town begins its three-day celebration.
At 21:00, the colourful Retreta Multicolor winds through the streets, setting things up for a packed Saturday.
Music, costumes and the different filaes will fill the town throughout the weekend, but Saturday is when many of the biggest events take place.
Saturday comes with free ice cream
Saturday 24 October begins early, with the presentation of the bands at 09:00.
Local musician and festival participant Daniel Baldó Morant will then conduct the Fiesta en Jijona anthem.
At 12:00 comes one of the more unusual parts of the weekend, it’s fun time with the Embassy of the Ice Cream Makers.
Half an hour later, at 12:30, the traditional Entrance of the Ice Cream Makers begins, followed by the distribution of free ice cream.
The Grand Entrance takes over Jijona
The centrepiece arrives on Saturday evening.
The Grand Entrance of the Moors and Christians begins at 18:30, bringing together the different filaes for the weekend’s biggest parade.
Moorish and Christian marches will accompany the elaborate costumes and procession through the town.
Sunday brings the celebrations to a close
The final day on Sunday 25 October includes the traditional embassies and floral offering.
A solemn procession begins at 20:30, forming part of the closing celebrations.
Sunday will also see the proclamation of the 2027 captains, handing responsibility to the next group of festival leaders and beginning preparations for another year.
For the heladero families themselves, however, the weekend is about more than parades and costumes.
It remains a homecoming, rooted in an old working pattern that once took generations of Jijona families across Spain for months at a time before bringing them home when the ice cream season ended.
And there cannot be many festivals where that homecoming is celebrated with marching bands, medieval costumes and a free scoop.
Bridging the Gap’s recap
- Jijona’s Moros y Cristianos de los Heladeros runs from 23 to 25 October.
- The festival grew from the tradition of local artisan ice cream makers returning home after working elsewhere in Spain.
- The Retreta Multicolor begins at 21:00 on Friday.
- Saturday’s band presentation starts at 09:00.
- The humorous Embassy of the Ice Cream Makers takes place at 12:00 on Saturday.
- The Entrance of the Ice Cream Makers follows at 12:30, with ice cream handed out afterwards.
- The Grand Entrance of the Moors and Christians begins at 18:30 on Saturday.
- The festival ends on Sunday with traditional events including a procession at 20:30 and the proclamation of the 2027 captains.
Enjoy more Local Events on the Costa Blanca.
