The Strawberry Festival

The Strawberry Festival, or 'Festa Frawli', is a rather young event in Malta and more specifically in the small town of Mġarr. The residents started to celebrate it a little over a decade ago, in 2007. It was actually the initiative of the governor of the town. He grew up on a strawberry farm, so at one point he decided to organize an event to promote local businesses and create an occasion for people to have fun. With the support of the residents and volunteers, he managed to establish the Festival, which now takes place every spring.

The agricultural town of Mġarr is located a few minutes drive above Golden Bay, surrounded by dozens of fields and farms, including the famous strawberry ones. They are quite popular, so one can understand why this fruit was chosen as the protagonist of the event.

The history of the strawberry can be traced back to ancient times. Interestingly enough, similar fruits can be found in different parts of the world with suitable weather, and in fact, it originally grew in Europe and South America among other places. Many ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and doctors mentioned the strawberry in their diaries and tractates. Later it was considered a great gift to the aristocracy as a sign of show respect and gratitude.

However, the strawberry back then was not the one we know and enjoy today. It was smaller, and more akin to wild strawberries now. The size it has is the result of a happy coincidence when a  French officer donated several bushes he dug up in Chile to the botanic garden in Paris. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as we know now), those bushes were incapable of bearing fruit. They merely bloomed, and for almost two hundred years this remained the case, until the flowers were pollinated by another turn of strawberry. This gave rise to  big strawberries and people started to cultivate them replacing the smaller variant. 

During the Strawberry Festival, you will be able to indulge in as many strawberries as you wish,  and enjoy the fruits of  years of diligent cultivation. The Maltese people go out of their way to createmasterpieces using strawberries. You can easily find food stalls with waffles or pancakes covered with strawberry jam, or sliced berries with cream, caramel, or chocolate. Moreover, the locals also make special dough tubes and fill them with diferent types of strawberry fillings. If you are drawn to a more healthy lifestyle, feel free to try out fresh strawberry smoothies and milkshakes. You can also try all kinds of drinks, juice, strawberry punches, and so on.There is even strawberry wine!

However, the Strawberry Festival is not just about eating. Visitors will be able to witness a variety of contests, including a biggest strawberry competition, as well as compositions and toys made of strawberries. There will also be a multitude oflocal bands and musicians present, who give the festival an even greater sense of authenticity.  The festival is very popular not just among  foreigners and tourists but also the Maltese themselves, since everyone likes to experience this beautiful festival.

Additionally, one can also visit the ancient ruins that are located close to Mġarr. The Ta’ Hagrat Temples, for instance, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are only a few minutes away, andconsist of several well-preserved buildings that are almost 6000 years old. During the festival, there will be special guided tours to this site as well as other ancient temples around it.
The Strawberry Festival takes place on April the 7th, 2021, 10:00 AM — 05:00 PM in the main square outside the Parish Church in Mġarr, Malta.