2020 has been different from usual, a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic that has entailed a set of health measures affecting all areas of residents’ lives as well as different parts of our economy, such as local shops, with many businesses being forced to temporarily close. Food shops, however – and more specifically the municipal markets – have remained open as an essential service, working non-stop for the entire time to provide Barcelona’s residents with fresh and local produce. Furthermore, they have done this based on the markets’ values of professionalism, quality and sustainability at all times.

In view of this, the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets (IMMB) would like to pay tribute to all municipal market stallholders, both those that have remained open and those that have had to close, who have kept working during these difficult last few months, by dedicating them Market Week from 21 to 29 November.

A variety of events will be held over a week, all of them adjusted to the new reality – and therefore essentially online – while remaining participation-based and open to all kinds of public and interests, and reclaiming our markets as meeting places, as places for social relations and exchange.

It is a commercial revitalisation campaign to promote local shopping, with a particular emphasis on markets, and highlight their value as a key economic and social cornerstone of the city in addition to their role as suppliers of healthy food and a model of sustainability that is extremely important in the current situation.

The event’s online format in view of the current circumstances is also linked to the fact that the city’s markets are modern and upgraded local facilities with new online services able to meet the new needs and generations of Barcelona’s residents.

Programme

One of the key contents in this Market Week will be the ‘Market Artists’ videos. In these, traders from various markets and different shop types will share, first-hand and from their own establishments, knowledge about their specialist subject: their own products. They will teach us from their own food establishments tricks for cooking and avoiding waste, as well as food ideas and recipes with the best fresh products. In addition, you can also learn some interesting facts, advice and knowledge from owners of non-food markets and establishments.

In addition to these videos, a number of events will be streamed during Market Week. Firstly, as part of the Boqueria Market’s 180th anniversary celebrations, you can enjoy live cooking shows by various renowned chefs such as Isma Prados, Eduard Xatruch, Oriol Castro or Mateu Casañas from the restaurant DISFRUTAR. In addition, the book ‘La Boqueria 1840-2020’ will be presented with its authors, Genís Arnàs and Matilde Alsina.

The public will also get an opportunity to laugh with ImproMercats, comic theatre sketches performed from a market cooking classroom that require interaction with the public in order to enable the actresses to improvise. Children will have two storytelling evenings in which they will be able to listen to stories inspired by the markets and healthy eating.

For those in search of social events, there will be a video by the chef Ada Parellada, who will prepare a Guinean recipe at the Espai Boqueria with the help of Conakry (Guinea) refugee Slouleymane Diallo. The aim of this solidarity workshop, which is promoted by the Catalan Refugee Aid Commission (CCAR), is to use cooking as an excuse to explain the reality of refugees.

Various events organised by the market traders’ associations, such as the ‘Autumn Menus’ videos offered on Saturdays by Anna de Pablo from the Ninot Market cooking classroom, will also take place during the week. As we gradually receive all the proposals from the markets, these will be added to the online programme in the Barcelona Markets blog: somdemercat.cat.

A digital event

All Market Week events can be either followed live or watched on video on the Barcelona Markets YouTube channel. Furthermore, they will be listed and available for consultation on the website https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/somdemercat/ca/setmanademercats, where you can also find a presentation of the event and a detailed programme. You can access this content through the website barcelona.cat/mercats.

In addition, all IMMB social media content will focus on Market Week for its entire duration. Posts will therefore be published on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter in order to reach all citizens and enable them to easily access all the events.