National Coffee Festival 2024: Programming, events and more

The National Coffee Festival returns to pay a significant tribute to Colombian coffee and its rich tradition. From June 14 to July 1, 2024, Calarcá (Quindío) will dress up to offer an exceptional program that will combine colorful parades, artistic exhibitions, high-level concerts and coffee cupping competitions.

The celebration of this festival began in 1960 in the municipality of Calarcá due to the importance of coffee as part of the country’s sociocultural heritage and for its work in promoting local production and commerce. Due to its importance, on December 2, 2004, the National Coffee Festival was declared a Tourist Resource and Cultural Heritage of the department of Quindío.

In dialogue with El Espectador, Juan Sebastián Ramos, mayor of the Calarcá municipality, explained that the festival has had certain evolutions throughout all the years of history, since previously only the National Coffee Reign was celebrated, accompanied by typical activities of town festivals and concerts. But it was after the last great coffee boom, at the end of the 80s, that the way it was celebrated began to change, in order to remember the importance of coffee in the region.

“A few years later, the Yipao contest and parade was institutionalized, which has become one of the iconic events of the National Coffee Festival, along with the reign and different cultural dynamics. In fact, we as a municipal government have worked to recover the cultural meaning of the festival, resuming exercises such as “You in the street” and the folklore meeting, which had been left aside in the past,” the mayor explained.

What can you expect?

Mayor Ramos pointed out that the municipal government’s main objective is to return greatness to the National Coffee Festival, especially considering that the Coffee Cultural Landscape, made up of 51 municipalities, was declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2011 and only Calarcá celebrates a party of that magnitude.

The Coffee Cultural Landscape is an example of human adaptation to difficult geographical conditions, where hillside and mountain coffee farming has been developed based on small property. This model has demonstrated its sustainability in economic, social and environmental terms, positioning its product as one of the best coffees in the world. Its importance lies in the combination of a deep-rooted coffee tradition with the heritage of Antioquian colonization that has shaped a region with a high degree of cultural unity, expressed in a rich material and intangible heritage. For all this, the PCC forms a unique region in the world, which humanity seeks to preserve.

“This is why this festival is important, because of the 16 attributes that were taken into account for the evaluation of the heritage declaration, one of these items was the National Coffee Festival due to the traditions that develop in Calarcá, where there is a very strong roots around coffee growing, music, gastronomy and art, dynamics that developed on coffee farms. An example of this is the Carranga Antioquia, a typical music with special connotations in the coffee region, which was also considered by UNESCO,” said the mayor.

In addition, Ramos highlighted the importance of maintaining the celebration of the National Coffee Festival, since during the two weeks of festivities, the economy moves considerably, benefiting the municipality’s merchants. This year we seek to see how the event evolves on a larger scale, since after 13 years it was possible to manage resources with Fontur to carry out a significant promotion process. This will make it possible to publicize the existence of the Festival and position Calarcá not only as a coffee destination, but also as a relevant tourist destination.

“I celebrate because one of the main challenges when organizing this event is the financial resources necessary to carry out all the logistics. In a municipality like Calarcá, fifth category and with more than 80,000 inhabitants, having a considerable amount of resources for the festival is difficult. For this reason, from the municipal administration, the greatest possible management is carried out with the private sector to achieve festivities in accordance with the importance of coffee and where citizens can enjoy a good time of recreation during the anniversary of the municipality,” he mentioned.

This edition stands out for the diversity and quality of the coffees it offers, with important samples presented by both the coffee institutions and local producers. In fact, in the municipality there are around 60 specialty coffees and other highly relevant origin coffees, which has allowed coffee growing to transcend beyond the production of parchment coffee, which was traditionally sold to the Federation or to coffee merchants. Now, producers are carrying out maquila and creating products derived from coffee, in addition to using all parts of the plant.

On the other hand, local producers play a crucial role in creating jobs, despite the reduction in crops in the last 30 years, since the employment that this industry produces helps the regional economy, especially strata 1 and 2 that include collectors, farm workers and those who manage them. They will also take center stage with small businesses at the event.

Regarding security measures, the local leader assured that they are working in coordination with the National Police and the Army, and there is also great support from the commander of the Departmental Police and the commander of Calarcá Station.

“We want to invite all Colombians to visit Calarcá and celebrate the National Coffee Festival with us. We hope that you fall in love with this land and, above all, that you recognize the dedication and effort of our coffee growers and farmers, who have given their lives to the coffee plantations to make Colombia the country it is today. We cannot forget that, in times of coffee boom, coffee was the engine of the Colombian economy, something that perhaps we have overlooked over time,” Ramos concluded.

Programming

The programming schedules will be managed on an itinerant basis, that is, events can occur at any time of the day.

Sunday June 16

• Opening Parade Cultural and Sports Week: Participation of the candidates for the XII Popular Coffee Reign.
• Artistic and cultural exhibition.
• Opening of competition for Showcases and Balconies.
• Coffee with Verse Literary Route: With the candidates for the XII Popular Coffee Reign.

Friday June 14

• Opening Parade Cultural and Sports Week: Participation of the candidates for the XII Popular Coffee Reign.
• Artistic and cultural exhibition.
• Opening of competition for Showcases and Balconies.
• Coffee with Verse Literary Route: With the candidates for the XII Popular Coffee Reign.

Saturday June 15

• Calarcá Municipal Chess Tournament 138 years.
• Fit Challenge: With the candidates for the XXI Popular Coffee Reign.
• First parade of Antique, Classic and Vintage Bicycles: For the entire family.
• Coffee Marathon: Skating competition.
• Mountain Bike Tour “By the Paths of the Cacique.”
• Eliminatory Phase “Tribute to the PCC” Cantapisteros Contest.

Monday June 17

• Exhibition Life and Work of Master Uriel Salazar Ceballos.
• Rebirthing Our Culture: Artistic Exhibitions Training Processes.

Tuesday June 18

• Special arts meeting: Hugging hearts.

Wednesday June 19

• Meeting of Andean and Latin American Music “Winds of Peace”.

Thursday June 20

• Diverse Carnival Coffee Parade.
• Kafe Diverso Cultural Festival.

Friday, June 21st

• VIII Urban Dance Festival “Urban Fest”.

Saturday June 22

• Strongest Chieftains.
• Shows Crossfit / Weights Power Bodybuilding.
• Willys push.
• XLIX Craft, Microenterprise and Manufacturing Fair and Market of the Colombian West.
• Ride.
• Concert Coffee.

Sunday June 23

• Animal Welfare Day: Coffee Footprints.
• Choreographies of the XII Festival of Martial Music Bands on the PC
• PCC Calarcá Tunas Festival 138 years.

Monday June 24

Tuesday June 25

• Gastronomic festival: Flavors and Knowledge of the Coffee Cultural Landscape.
• Attributes of the Coffee Cultural Landscape showcase competition.

Featured Events

• National Festival of Martial Music Bands Parade (Sunday, June 23) This event brings together martial bands from all over the country, who compete and exhibit their skills in parades and presentations. The bands perform martial music and other pieces, showing their discipline, coordination and musical talent.
• Coffee Rounds (June 25): Celebration with typical costumes and traditional music.
• National Coffee Festival Concert (June 28 to July 1): It will feature the participation of artists such as Dalmata, Charrito Negro, David Pabón, El chico Jaramillo, Los chiches del Vallenato, Luis Hernandez, Oscar Mosquera, Pipe Morales and DJ Felipe Gomez.
• Coffee Cultural Landscape Parade (Saturday, June 29): Celebration of the declaration of the Coffee Cultural Landscape as World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It includes floats and representations that exalt the history, architecture, customs and traditions of the coffee-growing environment.
• 31st edition of the National Yipao Competition (June 30): Jeep Willys competition in modalities such as cargo, human transportation, agricultural products and innovation.
• 41st edition of the National Coffee Reign (June 23-30): Beauty contest and knowledge about coffee culture.