The Arnuero Town Hall intends to turn the month of September into a celebration of local produce and gastronomy, trying to gradually transform “the Isla Pepper Fair” into a major driving event for the primary sector, but with strong links to the services sector and the tourism offering. To do this, it has opted to take on a broader programme of activities, continuing the Feria del Vino Costa de Cantabria, with the aim of promoting activity linked to wine and vineyards, which returned to Isla about six years ago. With this Fair, we aim to provide a meeting point and a showcase for the many wineries that have been established in recent years and that fall under the IGP “Vinos Costa de Cantabria”.
So a month begins in September that will flood the municipality of Arnuero with the red of the pepper and the golden of the wines that, for just a few years now, are produced with high quality in this coastal town. A month to come and enjoy the beaches, nature, the Ecoparque and, of course, the extraordinary gastronomy served from the stoves of the excellent local restaurants.
This year, experiences will be offered again that will link gastronomy with rural entrepreneurship, nature and leisure, with the aim of presenting the best of this vitamin-rich territory, which is the Ecoparque de Trasmiera. Thus, the week after the Fairs, we will have 3 days with numerous experiences that will bring together tastings, sample servings, cookery demonstrations, pairings, cultural and sensory experiences—each one using the products of the land as the connecting thread.
XIII ISLA PEPPER FAIR and III COSTA DE CANTABRIA WINE FAIR. GASTRONOMIC ISLA.
After becoming established as a leading Fair in Cantabria, drawing thousands of visitors each year who are attracted by the unique opportunity to buy the authentic Isla pepper, while always maintaining excellent sales performance, this year has opted for growth and for setting the foundations to gradually turn the original fair into a major event.
This year, the Arnuero Town Hall presents significant new features with the intention of making a quality leap in the future, with the goal of transforming what began as a rural fair into a major social, economic, gastronomic and cultural event. To do this, the new features expected to grow over the coming years were outlined in 2024, in order to create a framework for social and economic activity lasting longer than just a single day of fair.
The most important commitment will be the 3rd Costa de Cantabria Wine Fair, one day after the Isla Pepper Fair, in which the local farmers will again be involved, and the presence of a dozen wineries from the IGP is expected, accompanied by artisan cheesemakers and some other artisan products. Within the scope of this fair, the traditional Contest of Railway Pots, dedicated to local beans (both white and carico) and to pepper, is maintained.
Also as a new feature, the Fairs will have a subsequent programme, Gastronomic Isla, which aims to deepen knowledge of local products through talks, tastings, pairings, and food demonstrations. Designed as micro-events and aimed at a very limited capacity. These events aim to expand knowledge of products, their development, and the problems facing local producers.
