Flower Festival Medellin
Feria de Las Flores en Medellín-Colombia

Many hear about the Flower Festival in Medellin without knowing what exactly is this fair. I grew up in Medellín Colombia living and enjoying this yearly event.

The Festival de Las Flores takes place in August in the capital of Antioquia, a state of Colombia and it is a celebration about one of the top exports of Colombia, flowers.

Origins of the Flower Festival Medellin

In a country faithful to its Catholic roots, this 8-day fair started on May 1 1957 as an exhibit of flowers to celebrate the Virgin Mary's day.

La Feria de Las Flores took place at the Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Medellín, and from there on, it has been a yearly celebration that includes El Desfile de Silleteros. This parade is one of the most significant in the country, and celebrates the end of slavery by having peasants carry huge flower arrangements on their backs symbolizing the occasions many slaves carried their owners the same way.

Today we celebrate The Flower Festival in Medellín also to commemorate the independence of the Antioquia department which takes place on August 7.

Main Events Flower Festival Medellin

Desfile de Silleteros. Silleteros are the peasants who create the immense flower arrangements they exhibit in the parade called silletas. One of the best things to do is to visit this town to see the artists in action.

silleteros come from the town of Santa Elena where for days they create these works of art. Some silletas are commercial therefore include publicity (logos of companies), and the rest are simply depictions of landscape, daily scenes, images of Antioquia, etc,.

Cabalgata de la Feria or horseback riding groups that come from about 60 small regions of Antioquia and the country to participate and exhibit their horses. In 1996 and 1999 the cabalgata de Las Flores appeared in the Guiness Book of Records as the one with the most number of participants in the world for this type of event.

Arrieros, Mulas y Fondas is an event that displays the most traditional foods, arts and customs of the different regions of Antioquia. It includes stands in a park with delicacies and products that characterize each region.

Desfile de Carros Antiguos or parade of classic cars is a complete success every year. Many antique cars follow a predetermined route for the attendees enyoyment.

Orquideas, Pajaros y Flores is an exhibit at the Medellín Botanical Garden that shows flowers, birds and specifically orchids of many parts of the world and especially Colombia, a very prolific country in the production of flowers. Colombia's national flower is the orchid and the country produces 4,000 kinds of the magnificent flower amongst the 30,000 varieties we know.

I shared with you the main events you should not miss when experiencing the Flower Festival in Medellin. There are many more events in this long week festival, make sure to check the most up-to-date schedule close to the date of the fair here Flower Festival Medellin.

Also if you are coming, make sure you experience a trip in chiva. Chivas are typical buses we used to ride to get out of the small towns mainly in Antioquia . Today we use them for the enjoyment of all who ride them while listening to typical music and drinking aguardiente and rum. During this week many foreigners and specially Gringos come to Medellin to enjoy a week long of culture, friendship and beautiful Medellin women.