by Maria Comellas 
Summary of BLANES12 (2014 Edition)
THE 3RD EDITION OF BLANES12 IMPROVES LAST YEAR'S RESULTS
Throughout the weekend the streets of the town have registered hundreds of visitors and more than 50 activities, highlighting the Saturday night concert with more than 4.500 people
The third edition of Blanes 12 has considerably improved the results of last year after registering a notable influx of visitors in recent days who have been able to participate in more than 50 free activities. This is how the councilor for Promotion of the City, Lara Torres, assessed it yesterday at sunset, who also explained that this year has been, by far, the edition in which there has been the greatest participation.
The atmosphere that has lasted throughout the weekend was comparable to the days of the Fiesta Mayor that will soon be held in Blanes. In fact, this is the spirit that this promotional action wants to convey, which kicked off Friday with the shopping night.
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Raffle of two superpaneres
The following day, Saturday, the options for Blanes 12 were numerous. One of them had as a point of interest the Fruit and Vegetable Market of Paseo de Inside. For two days, Friday and Saturday, two ballot boxes were placed in the market to collect the purchase receipts from customers that were used to enter the draw for two superpaneres.
All the stalls in this market, about thirty, contributed with a selection of the most representative products of each of them. The two winners of the draw were, on the one hand, Mary, who bought at the Verduras Joan Cuní stall, and on the other, La Tomassa, with a ticket from Verduras Marcial.
Shortly after the draw had been made, one of the two winners appeared, who still could not quite believe that she had won the prize. To pick it up, she went to where the two paneres were on display, at Estanco Pla, where there were eggs, bananas, peanuts, plants, wine, vegetables and a long etcetera.
According to those responsible for the market, each panera was valued at about 100 euros and was a representation of the bonus and the best that can be found at the Fruit and Vegetable Market. Between Friday and Saturday, some 7.500 purchase tickets were collected and entered into the draw.
Activities for children, Dances and Outdoor sports
Throughout the weekend, one of the options that the children had, accompanied by their relatives, was to participate in the activities organized by Kids & Os. In addition to the StoryTime sessions -stories explained in English-, there were also three children's cooking workshops called Little Chef. Housed in the rehearsal room of the Theater, the cooking workshops not only taught the children to make various simple meals, they also taught them about food as an educational base.
The kids & os method consists of children learning English through continuous exposure to the language, working on personal experiences and taking advantage of children's need to communicate. For this reason, all the explanations are given in English, with total linguistic immersion, with small groups and dynamic, active and encouraging classes.
What has also not been lacking throughout the weekend are the master-classes that have been taking place on the Paseo de Mar, at the Banco de los Músicos. The monitors of 9 Issui have been in charge of making a wide and moving tasteig of the modalities that can be practiced through several sessions where people of all ages participated, from children to the elderly.
They are sessions halfway between dance, music and sports, which tests the physical resistance of anyone, no matter how prepared they are. Thus, several modalities were made, starting with Body Combat and continuing with an always exotic dance session of those to be able to go out in one for the Bollywood factory movie, as well as other better-known specialties such as salsa or zumba.
Children's parade and concerts for all ages
On Saturday afternoon, the children were once again the protagonist through the itinerant street show called Sueños de Alícia. The members of the Naked Theater company were in charge of giving life to a gigantic Alicia who was mounted on a device that simulated that she was thrown by a bunny.
Taking these main elements of the well-known story by Lewis Carroll, at the same time as the route that ran through the center of the town was made, a dynamic story was built where the children were the main engines of its content. In this way, interacting with the young spectators, the parade was explaining various stories along a route that ended in Calle Muralla, where the dream ended after almost an hour of travel.
The stage on Calle Muralla where Alícia's dream had ended was where another proposal from Blanes 12 began. In this case it was the double concert offered by the young people from Casal Morralla, Espacio Creativo. Singer-songwriter Raquel performed first, reciting her texts with reflections on various topics accompanied by guitar music.
Then it was the turn of the group "The Breads", who offer pieces of reggae and alternative rock. In fact, the concert began with a song that can already be considered a declaration of intent, “Chow Chow”, by Los Mojinos Escocíos. The brief concert also included pieces of those that can be considered fully cult, such as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway tone Heaven", Nirvana's "Rapo Me", or two Bob Marley classics, "No woman no cry" and “Jamming”.
The concert by the people of Morralla Espacio Creativo was completed with the intervention of the duo “Fleyks”, whom we have also been able to see in other Blanes events. In this case, the two young women reviewed several much more leisurely and emotional songs, versions of well-known singers such as Miley Cyrus or Beyoncé.
Saturday night marked a turning point in the route of Blanes 12: more than 4.500 people gathered at the Paseo de Mar to participate in the concert that had as protagonists the three DJs of the "Tour de los 40 principals", Adrià Ortega, Ernest Codina and Roger Carandell.
It is a spectacular audiovisual montage with a set equipped with the latest technology: 30 square meters of mapping in three dimensions, the best music and, above all, animation, lots of animation. The live musical selection that was offered to the concert made the large number of the public vibrate that gathered practically from the beginning of the party, half past ten at night, until it ended, at quarter to 2 in the morning.
Naturist relaxation, castelleros and cava tasting
The following day, Sunday, whoever wanted to rest from the hectic Saturday night had the opportunity to do so for the second consecutive day in the tent that was installed to touch the monument to Joaquim Ruyra, the Paseo de la Mestrança, the Portal de Salud Naturist Association . Reiki, foot reflexology, yoga and massages have been done here. The Blanes Health Portal also offers treatments that can alleviate chronic ailments such as fibromyalgia. Chiromassatge, shiatsu, lymphatic drainage, meditation and various specialties are also performed.
From a quite different aspect was another of the options that have lasted throughout the weekend at Blanes 12. We are referring to the introductory workshops on cava tasting that Blanes Laviret cava has offered.
Housed in the Casa del Pueblo, the workshops began with a talk about the secrets and characteristics of cava production in general, and Laviret in particular through the components that characterize the two varieties currently produced: Laviret Bruto and Laviret Bruto Nature. The workshops have also included an introduction to aromas to recognize the characteristics of sparkling wines, as well as a mandatory tasting.
At noon yesterday, Sunday, one of the activities that had the most participation was the castellera workshop and exhibition that was housed on the esplanade of the port, next to the old fish market. The protagonists were the members of La Pandilla de los Fresones, who come from Alto Maresme, but whose members include several boys and girls from Blanes.
The gang is made up of 170 people, and offered, among other castles, a 4 of 6 with a needle, a normal 4 of 6 and two pillars of 4 simultaneously, which put an end to the evening. The castellera action also had its vindictive moment, since this past Sunday thousands of castelleros internationalized the right to decide throughout the world by displaying the banner “Catalonia wants a vote tone”, promoted by Òmnium Cultural and the ANC. In this way, the poster that could be seen yesterday in Paris, Berlin, London or even in Australia, was also displayed in Blanes.
Concert of the group Ol'Green at the Theater
The intense activity generated by the organization of Blanes 12 ended yesterday at sunset in a vibrant and highly participatory manner. In this case it was the only activity in which you had to pay admission.
“Ol'Green”, the finalist group of the musical program-contest “Oh Happy Day” on TV3, was in charge of animating the evening offered at the Theatre, filled with audiences of all ages. The young singers of Ol'Green starred in a performance based on music and good humor, always counting on the complicity of the public, as when they asked the men to sing on one side, and the women and children to do so on the other, in a kind of friendly choral battle that helped make the concert even more participatory.
Throughout the evening, those from Ol'Green offered all-time classics, such as "La Vie en Rose" or what was not to be missed when it came to what it was about: "Oh Happy Day", going through hits Catalans like “Palabras de Amor”, the “Águila Negra” or a very vibrant version of “Mis exs”, by the Friends of the Arts.
There were also moments for other types of songs, such as “Y'm a Beliver” or one of the hits of the moment, “Get Lucky”. There was also time to go over songs by those immortals, which are now almost an anthem, such as “Salvo” made popular by the movie “Sister Act”, or the emblematic song by the Beatles, “Let it Be”.
