Never let it be said that tradition isn’t flexible in Tenerife, even the most long running events are open to a little tweaking and fine tuning, but of course it doesn’t always work. The Feria de Alimentas Canarias (Canarian Food Fair) tried a new approach this year with the two large marquees moving from outside the Casa del Mar between the two Los Cristianos beaches to outside the Cultural Centre.

Biscuits, bread, cheeses, wine, and all manner of tasty goodies were again gathered together from all seven Canary Islands to the separated marquees at either end of the Plaza del Pescador. In between there was an array of artisans stalls selling arts and crafts, and in front of the Centro Cultural a stage provided traditional music throughout the two days.

Even allowing for it being a bit quiet in Tenerife at the moment the turnout of potential customers was much lower than at the previous location. I popped in several times and it wasn’t the usual scrum down of free sample seeking jabbing elbows around the stalls. The old site was on a main walkway as tourists went back and forth the beaches, they have to be the main target of sales, locals buy and use these foods and drinks all year round and have cheaper local stores to buy from.

The variety didn’t seem quite wide this time, I assume the stall holders had to pay for their pitches, maybe the prices were a bit steeper this time. It was still possible to buy fine products like Avocado Oil, Aloe Vera, honey, gofio, mojo sauce, spices, and chocolate almonds but I didn’t see the constant stream of carrier bags that normally parade out of the tent flaps. Fair play to Arona council for trying something different but maybe next year they will revert to the busier beach site.