Cassà de la Selva, in Girona, will host its ninth Cork and Cork Stopper Fair from 12 to 14 June, with more than 40 activities linked to cork, stoppers, winemaking and cava. The event is designed to highlight the town’s cork heritage and its place in the wider Catalan sector.
Most of the programme will take place along Passeig Vilaret. Visitors can expect wine tastings, concerts, talks, craft demonstrations, children’s workshops and a market selling cork products. For wider context on local coverage, see our news tag.
A main feature will be the live cork stripping demonstration at the Can Vilallonga cork oak forest on Saturday and Sunday, followed by the traditional strippers’ breakfast. This year’s fair also adds two new activities, a yoga session among the cork oaks and Corks Reality, a 24-hour experience in Plaça de la Coma led by a group called Els Corks.
Educational sessions will focus on the cork and wine sectors. The Àgora space will host talks on cooperative wine in Cassà and the impact of climate change on the region’s wine industry, with meteorologist Tomàs Molina taking part alongside sommeliers and oenologists.
Families will have free workshops and children’s shows, including activities to make cork bookmarks, cork rope bracelets, bird sound instruments and cork paper origami. Folkids, Pol Nord and Companyia Tot Circ are scheduled to perform family shows.
The programme also includes demonstrations of the traditional cork stopper maker’s craft, concerts, vermouth tastings, visits to cork stopper factories, a theatrical sketch and the Xic-Xec popular dinner. The fair will honour Josep and Domingo Serra for their contribution to innovation in the cork industry.
The fair was presented on Tuesday by representatives from Cassà’s cork sector and related institutions, including Pau Presas, first vice-president of Girona Provincial Council and mayor of Cassà, Robert Mundet, acting mayor, Àlex Font, councillor for economic promotion, and Joan J. Puig, president of the Catalan Cork Institute Foundation, AECORK and the European Cork Confederation. During the presentation, local cork stripper Eloi Madrià demonstrated cork stripping, and guests tasted the traditional strippers’ snack.