Reus will become for 45 days, between November 27 and January 10, a large Christmas theme park, with an extensive program of shows, outdoor attractions, and which will have the participation of a thousand of people The "Reus Christmas Story", as the guiding thread of the campaign, will transform the city center into imaginary worlds and fill it with more than 400 performances. The aim of the campaign, devised by Reus City Council and promoted with the collaboration of commercial entities, is to contribute to positioning the city as a commercial and cultural center of reference, with an impact beyond the festivities of Christmas The dissemination campaign will be intensive and will cover Camp de Tarragona, Terres de l'Ebre, Penedès and Lleida.
"Conte de Nadal de Reus" revolutionizes traditional Christmas campaigns. Themes the city center to offer visitors a comprehensive experience that links commerce and culture with the Christmas tradition. And it does so through children's stories, which give rise to imaginary worlds where the extensive agenda of activities that has been programmed will take place.
A central axis is defined between the squares of Llibertat, Prim and Mercadal which, with its own discourse, will act as a pole of attraction for visitors to the city centre. The offer of local trade and the involvement of the sector will distribute visitors throughout the streets and squares.
The city center will give rise to six imaginary worlds or thematic areas Three have a specific physical scope, and will mainly host the attractions:
- "The house on the ice".
- "Northern Lights Visions of Jules Verne».
- "The Snow Queen".
And three respond to conceptual issues, and group the artistic shows:
- "Land of giants".
- "The land of music" or "The silly symphonies".
- "The Wizard of Oz"
Physical themed areas
Plaça del Mercadal, "The house on the ice"
This area is a tribute to the book "The house on the ice", written by Joaquim Carbó in 1982, when the 50th anniversary of his most recognized work, "The house on the sand" (1966) is celebrated. The main claims in this area are the following:
- The ice rink will open between November 27 and January 10, thanks to the collaboration of El Tomb de Reus. The price of the ticket to skate there will be 7 euros. The shops will give discounts of 3 euros.
- Decoration of the square with 12 illuminated stars that will be inflated to 2 meters in diameter and will hang in the center of the ice rink.
- Decoration of the facade of the town hall with colored lighting and Christmas gardening with white ribbons.
Plaça de Prim, "Northern Lights". Visions of Jules Verne»
Tribute to "Northern Lights" (1995), the first book of Philip Pullman's trilogy and to the genius Jules Verne (1928-1905) who wrote: "Whatever one person can imagine, others can make it come true" .
- Continuous light show that is projected uninterruptedly between 18:00 p.m. and 21:00 p.m. on the entire continuum of facades of the Fortuny Theatre, between Sant Joan and Llovera streets. It will be done every day from Monday to Sunday.
- Laser ceiling Light assembly that will cover the entire Plaça de Prim with a laser ceiling, with a continuous show from 18:00 p.m. to 21:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday.
- "The Christmas tale of Reus". An audiovisual short film projected on the facade of the Teatre Fortuny, which will introduce the spectators to the six imaginary worlds with which the center of the city will be themed.
Plaza de la Libertat, "The Snow Queen"
A tribute to "The Snow Queen", written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845. In this space you can find the following attractions:
- snow cannon Every Friday and Saturday, between December 4 and 19, it will snow in Plaça de la Llibertat from 18:00 p.m. on a forest of around fifty fir trees and the tracks of the "Polar Express" train.
- "Polar Express". The Association of Friends of the Reus Railway will install between the 3rd and the 20th of December a miniature train with which the scoundrel can make a trip under the snow and through the spruce forest.
- The Christmas Market, with 21 stalls where you can buy the typical products of these holidays. It will be installed in Plaça de la Llibertat between December 3 and 20. Each stop will have the name of a children's story forming a large library.
- Christmas tree The Union of Shopkeepers will this year install its traditional large Christmas tree in Plaça de la Libertat.
- Fairs The children's attractions of the Christmas fair will be installed in the square from December 3.
Conceptual and artistic themed areas
"The Wizard of Oz"
Tribute to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", published by Lyman Frank Baum in 1900. It brings together the itinerant magic shows that will take place in different streets and squares in the center of the city.
47 sessions have been scheduled with a total of 330 performances, which will be run by the members of the Association of Magicians and Illusionists of Catalonia in Reus (AMIC) and the Struc Wizard. They will be every day of the week, mainly on Fridays and Saturdays. It is recommended to consult the activities agenda.
"The land of music" or "The silly symphonies"
A tribute to Walt Disney's first animated stories (Silly Symphonies) from the early years of the 20th century and Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl".
It brings together a cultural program of 35 performances spread over different spaces in the city center. There will be concerts and performances by groups from the city of choirs (children's, school and adult), dance (rhythmic, classical, soul, etc...) and parades of batucades, dixie, bands, etc... They will be every day from week, mainly on Fridays and Saturdays. It is recommended to consult the activities agenda.
"Land of Giants"
A reminder of "Gulliver's Travels", by Jonathan Swift, published in 1726.
From Thursday to Saturday, the streets of the center of Reus will be visited by gigantic characters. These are shows and street entertainment groups, mainly aimed at children, with characters such as the Gordinis, the Nomads, the Traps or polar bears, among others. A total of 15 performances have been scheduled throughout the campaign. They will be mainly on Fridays and Saturdays. It is recommended to consult the activities agenda.
Other actions
The Christmas campaign is completed with other cultural and promotional actions:
- Inaugural show The traditional lighting of the Christmas lights is growing this year with a show that inaugurates the Christmas campaign and will also have children's stories as a plot thread. It will be in Plaça de Prim on Friday 27 November at 18:00 and will include a taste of the performances that have been scheduled over the course of 45 days: music, dance, parades, street entertainment, etc...
- Traditional acts. The program of the Christmas campaign includes a total of 15 events with a popular accent and identity of the city such as The dance of the 12 months, the Glossa de Nadal, the take-off of the Espetec, the Living Altarpieces, the visit of the Man of the noses and the collection of cards and the cavalcade of SSMM the Kings of the East.
- The Birth of Jesus. The Theater and Esbart Dansaire section of the Orfeó Reusenc recovers this old appetizer that had existed in the city in the past. This spoken dance is considered possibly the precedent of today's Pastorets.
- Christmas lights This year for the first time, with the aim of giving continuity to the commercial streets of the center, trees planted in some streets of the city center will be illuminated. A total of 20 streets will be decorated with Christmas lights, which will be switched on between November 27 and January 6.
- New Year's bells. For the first time, the New Year's bells will be rung to the sound of the bells of the Priory of Sant Pere. The 12 peaks will be accompanied by the lighting, one by one, of the 12 large stars that will be installed in the center of Plaça del Mercadal.
- Craft market. The artisans' stalls will be set up in Evarist Fàbregas square, in the El Pallol shopping center, between December 4 and January 5.
- Christmas at the Markets. The Mercats de Reus will have their own Christmas campaign with a schedule of events and special opening times. Musical and magic performances, and exhibitions have been scheduled. THERE will once again be raffles: purchase tickets can be redeemed for scratch tickets that offer customers immediate prizes.
- Parking lot The dissemination of the Christmas campaign will take the opportunity to remember that the parking rates of the municipal company Reus Mobilitat i Serveis allow you to park your vehicle in municipal parking lots at a maximum price of 4 euros per day. The municipal company is just outlining how to offer discounts and free parking hours to businesses in the city so that they can offer them to their customers.
