Festas are back on! Previously cancelled band marches may still take place this summer
Pressure had been mounting for the reinstatement of popular band marches.
Enthusiasts of local village feasts have previously been forced to make peace with forgoing the lively summer celebrations they’ve grown used to due to COVID-19 restrictions. But, despite several festa activities having been cancelled over the last weeks, it seems that some of the islands’ most popular band marches will take place after all!
According to reports, the first will be in celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, by the Għaqda Karmelitana Banda Queen Victoria of Zurrieq.
Back on 1st July, it was decreed by the Church that feast celebrations would be restricted to a mass and a street pilgrimage, but with COVID-19 cases substantially lower and the loosening of several mitigation measures, pressure has been mounting for the reinstatement of popular band marches.
And now, it seems to have borne fruit, following meetings between the Eżekuttiv tal-Għaqda Nazzjonali Każini tal-Banda and local Police officials, who have agreed that band clubs can now apply for the staging of band marches in the streets of Malta’s localities.
In great news for festa lovers, several bands from different localities are expected to put through their applications in the coming weeks, including those in Hamrun and Zabbar.
Will you be heading to your local band march?