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May 18 Free Night of the Museums activities in Lorca
Murcia’s third largest city has an extensive list of activities taking place to celebrate the ‘Night of the Museums’ this Saturday
There will be live music, art, cultural activities, guided tours, exhibitions, craft demonstrations and much more among the activities programmed by Lorca City Council on Saturday May 18, the ‘Night of the Museums’.
Every year, thousands of people in and around Lorca, as well as visitors to the city, come to enjoy the free activities in the streets and squares of the city, including concerts of a variety of genres of music and guided tours to discover the history and architecture of the city, and, of course, its many museums.
“After years of effort to recover our heritage, we now have a monumental legacy in better conditions than ever,” said the Mayor of Lorca, Fulgencio Gil Jódar. “It is a cultural reference for hundreds of visitors from other neighbouring regions who come to Lorca year after year to enjoy the multiple events that fill our urban spaces with life, spectacle and activities.”
This year, there are exciting new guided visits to the recently renovated Casa de Guevara museum, as well as many, many other free activities taking place until past midnight.
As well as all the tours and exhibitions listed below, there will be a Batucada Dakitu Samba Reggae drumming show, a ‘Dragons of the Dawn’ parade and other live music performances walking through the city streets and squares.
You can contact the Tourist Information Office on Carrerón de San Patricio in the Plaza de España to pre-book activities that require advance notice or to get information on downloading guides. Call 0034 968 44 19 14 or email ciudaddelsol@lorca.es.
The Tourist information office will be open on Saturday from 10am to 2pm and from 4pm to 10pm.
Here is the complete programme of activities for the Night of the Museums in Lorca on Saturday May 18, 2024:
Casa Guevara
Visit the Casa de Guevara after years of restoration and musealisation to see a treasure gathered by its inhabitants over 300 years.
Visiting times: Guided tours every 10 minutes from 7pm to 12.30am
Maximum 15 pax. Advance booking necessary.
Performance “The Baroque Lovers” by Carmen Franco in the Patio of the Casa de Guevara.
Photocall “Night of the Museums” from 8 p.m. at the entrance to the garden.
Visitors Centre
Discover the history of the city of Lorca through audiovisual shows.
Times: 5.30pm to 10pm. Last entry at 9.30pm.
Mediaeval children’s storyteller with Inma Guillén for children aged 3 years and older, at 6pm
Torre Alfonsina tower
Climb to the highest point in Lorca and discover the relationship of King Alfonso X El Sabio with Lorca.
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am. Last entry 12 midnight.
Visit with downloadable audio guide.
Learn about the legacy that mediaeval Jews left in Lorca by visiting the Synagogue.
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am. Last entry 12 midnight.
Visit with downloadable audio guide.
Free visit between 8pm and 11.30pm
Virgen de las Huertas Sanctuary
Exhibition ‘The Royal Jewels’ jewellery of Santa María la Real de las Huertas, Patroness of Lorca.
Times: from 5pm to 6.30pm and from 8pm to 10pm.
Palacio Califal
Visit to the Califal palace, which is located under part of the sanctuary of the Virgen de las Huertas, with an explanation of the excavation processes that allowed these very important archaeological findings to be brought to light.
Times: 9pm to 12.30am. Last entry 11.45pm
Guided tour every 45 minutes. Maximum 30 pax. Advance booking essential.
Discover the Museo del Belén, located in the Church of San Roque and San Sebastián, to enjoy the wonderful Christmas nativity scenes created by the Association of Nativity Scene Makers of Lorca.
Times: 7.30pm to 10pm
Sutullena Bullring
Children can have fun with inflatable bulls at 5.30pm
Choir singing and dancing with traditional music and songs from Lorca (book beforehand at the bullring) Times: 7.30pm; 8pm; 8.30pm; 10.30pm, 11pm; 11.30pm
Exhibition of horsedrawn carriages by the Lorca Ciudad del Sol Towing Association at 9pm
Food market with craft beer stand from Insania, Crespillos pancake stand and bacalao cod dishes
Madres Mercedarias
Visit the archaeological remains of a street in the old mediaeval neighborhood of Lorca, the Arab baths and the sculptures of San Blas, by Francisco Salzillo.
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am. Last entry 12 midnight. Guided tour every 30 minutes.
A candlelit tour through the streets of the Barrio de Santiago neighbourhood of the historic city centre (from Calle Zapatería to Porche de San Antonio, Calle Rojo and Plaza de San Juan)
In Plaza de San Juan, violin recital by students of the Suzuki method with their teacher Fernando Asensi from San Mateo, from 8.30pm to 10.30pm.
Juan Antonio Dimas Scout Museum
Exhibition highlighting 10 years of the Juan Antonio Dimas Scout Museum, 2014-2024
Entry for groups and guided tour: 15-20 people max. (45 min. approx.)
Times: 7.30pm; 8.30pm; 9.30pm; 10.30pm; 11.30pm. Prior booking required.
Children’s workshops at 6pm and 7pm ‘Monks-Knights Workshop of Calatrava la Vieja. Military Clothing and Weaponry’, which is designed for children between 6 and 12 years old to learn about mediaeval history in a fun and educational way. Prior booking can be made by calling 0034 968 40 62 67
Permanent and temporary exhibition: Calatrava, First Hispanic Religious-Military Order from 8pm to 12.30am
In the Plaza Juan Moreno, the play ‘El Caballero de Calatrava’ will be put on.
‘The Procession in the Cloister’ exhibition of photographs in the Cloister of Santo Domingo.
Exhibition ‘Centenary Stitches of Gold and Silk’ in the Main Room of the Embroidery Museum.
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am
Exhibition ‘Our Treasures of Egypt’, which includes embroidered pieces and other elements that appear in the procession and that are not normally exhibited in the Museum (capets and cloaks, cars and accessories, ornaments and headdresses, costumes, etc.).
Times: 7.30pm to 12 midnight
Children’s Workshops on Egypt
Painting, drawing, archaeology and crafts workshops about this great civilization.
Location: Marquee attached to the Museum. Prior registration.
Times: 6pm to 7.30pm
Exhibition of the Holy Supper of Nicolás Salzillo and San Felipe
Guided tour Times: Every half hour from 6.30pm to 10pm and then 11.30pm. No booking necessary.
Palacio Huerto Ruano
Photographic exhibition organised by the Fotolorca Association.
‘Encounters with soul’ Piano and flute concert.
Wine tasting in the Palacete Gardens at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm
Casa del Artesano
‘Earth, Air, Fire and Artisan Hands. Share the Crafts’
Guided visits
Live workshops on various crafts, three simultaneous demonstrations per floor every half hour between 8pm and 12 midnight. Booking necessary.
Visit the regional centre for crafts and enjoy its products made by artisans from the Region of Murcia.
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am
Plaza del Calderón
Children’s puppet show ‘The Three Little Pigs’ at 5.30pm
Coherence & Alex Puche concert feat. Alicia de la Osa at 9.30pm
DJ Celso at 11pm
Plaza Hermandad de La Curia
Children’s Workshops on Artistic Expression, aimed at children from 6 to 11 years old, at 6pm and 7pm
Plaza de San Vicente
Lettering workshop. Learn to draw letters of different shapes, sizes and colours. Bring a piece of clothing to write your name on. Time: 5.30pm. Prior booking necessary.
Flamenco show at 7pm
Plaza de España
Alfonso X Murcia Weapons Room Cultural Association and Historical Fencing Workshop for children, from 6pm to 7.30pm
Historical Fencing Exhibition (Medieval and modern weapons) for adults from 7.30pm to 10.30pm
Alfonso X Murcia Weapons Room Cultural Association. Fencing/Baroque Duel from 10.30pm to 11pm.
Calle Corredera
9pm: Performance by Laza and Noé.
10.30pm: Performance by Corbalán.
6.30pm: Motor vehicle tourist route through Lorca
7.30pm: “666” moto-acrobatic exhibition
9pm: Sugar Rock Concert
11pm: Charity raffle in aid of Adilor
11.15pm: Concert ‘The Cabin of the Marx Brothers’
Tourist trains
Times: 7.30pm to 12.30am
For more local news, events and visiting information go to the home page of Lorca Today
Image: Ayuntamiento de Lorca
Address
Calle Lope Gisbert, 12, LorcaTel: 968 441914
Oficina de Turismo de Lorca
The rich and extensive history of Lorca has left a legacy of archaeological sites and historic buildings around which the modern city has built its tourism industry. Amongst these are Lorca Castle, Plaza de España, the former Collegiate church of San Patricio, the municipal archaeological museum, the Casa Huerto Ruano, the Palacio de Guevara and the churches and convents of San Francisco, San Mateo, the Virgen de las Huertas, La Merced, El Carmen and many others.
Unfortunately, Lorca has been prone to natural disaster, suffering a severe flood in 1973 which killed 50 people, and a Gota Fría on September 28th 2012, as well as a series of earthquakes, the most recent of which was 5.3 on the Richter scale on 11th May 2011 and claimed 9 lives.
Lorca also has an area of unspoilt coastline incorporating the Parque Regional de Cabo Cope - Puntas de Calnegre, which includes the beaches of Puntas de Calnegre, Cala Calnegre and various others. Although only one is accessible by road others can be reached along dirt tracks!
In terms of fiestas, Lorca is synonymous with Easter (Semana Santa), its biblical parades of International Tourist Interest status being famous throughout Spain. The week includes a series of parades in which the whites (Paso Blanco) and blues (Paso Azul) try to outdo each other with the magnificence of their embroideries and the skill and daring of their horsemen.
In the Autumn Lorca also celebrates the Fiestas of San Clemente and a Feria and there are a series of important events throughout the year in the Recinto Ferial, as well as a busy cultural and sporting programme.
The tourist office relocated for 14 years to Calle San Patricio, near the church, but has now returned to its former premises alongside the Palacio de Guevara in the Plaza Concha Sandoval, or Plaza de la Bordadora (click for map).
Lorca also has an area of inspoilt coastline incorporating the Parque Regional de Cabo Cope - Puntas de Calnegre, in the Sierra de Almenara, which includes the beaches of Puntas de Calnegre, Baño de las Mujeres, San Pedro, El Siscal, Cala Honda, Cuartel del Ciscar, Junquera, Cala de la Gruta, Cala Leña, Los Hierros, Cala Blanca and Playa Larga, although many are accessible only along difficult tracks or by boat!
However, in spite of its many attractions, the name of Lorca is synonymous with Easter, (Semana Santa) its biblical parades of International Tourist Interest status and famous throughout Spain. The week includes a series of processions in which the Whites (Paso Blanco) and Blues (Paso Azúl) try to outdo each other with the magnificence of their embroideries and the skill and daring of their horsemen.
Lorca also has a Parador hotel, located within the historic castle.
Opening hours for Lorca tourist office:
Every day of the year apart from 1st and 6th January and 25th December, 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 18.30 (except Sunday afternoons).
These opening times are often extended and other information points created during the Semana Santa celebrations.
For more local news, events and visiting information go to the home page of Lorca Today
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