Small town of Espinelves welcomes crowds for first weekend of iconic Christmas tree fair

For most of the year, the small town of Espinelves, in the Osona region, is a quiet rural community, home to just 262 residents.

But at Christmas, the town comes alive, welcoming thousands of visitors eager to take home one of its famed Christmas trees.

This year's opening weekend of the fair once again broke attendance records.

The town's mayor, Antoni Tanyà, described Saturday as "spectacular," with parking lots full and queues forming to enter the town from the early hours.

"We are delighted to see the town filled with people coming to find their Christmas tree," he said.

The fair, which runs until 14 December, is expected to sell 5,000 Christmas trees and surpass last year’s 120,000 visitors.

This year’s event features 120 stalls, including a dozen from local producers.

The fair is celebrating its 44th edition this year, featuring many products made locally.

"One of our strengths is that we showcase local goods," the mayor explains, noting that many of the shops are now run by the third generation of the same families.

This year, due to last year’s popularity and the mobility difficulties that arose, the fair has added 300 additional parking spaces, with hopes of creating 300 more next year.

"With that, we will have reached our maximum capacity," he adds.

The Christmas lights have also been renewed this year, and two large Christmas trees now welcome visitors to the town.

Miquel Prat, one of the fir-tree vendors, explained that he has been in the business for forty years and that his son is now taking over.

"It's wonderful to see people come here every year to buy their Christmas tree as part of their tradition," he says.

Prat explained that they sell two varieties of fir: the Picea excelsa, which grows more quickly and is more affordable, costing between €15 and €40, and the Nordmanniana fir, originally from Central Europe, highly resistant, and priced between €25 and €70 euros depending on size.