Melons Galore!

A slice of any type of melon is the perfect fruit to cool you down in the heat of the Mallorcan summer. Several varieties of this luscious, thirst-quenching crop are widely available on the island – though you may need to have good muscles to pick up some of the huge watermelons you’ll see for sale in food shops and on market stalls.

The humble melon is celebrated at the end of each August at the ‘Fira del Meló’ – or Melon Fair. It takes place in the small town of Vilafranca de Bonany, which is well known for the cultivation of melons in the surrounding fields.

This year, it’s the 30th edition of this fair, which takes place over the weekend of August 31st and September 1st. On Saturday evening, you can browse the stalls of the night fair, offering local produce and artisan crafts. There’s usually a children’s lantern parade on this evening – with their lanterns carved from melons. Sunday is the big day for the ‘Fira del Meló’, which has plenty of interest for the whole family, including tastings of different types of melon, exhibitions, demonstrations, and, of course, the annual competition to find the heaviest melon.

A visit to Vilafranca’s Melon Fair will give you an authentic taste of the traditional agricultural life of small-town Mallorca.