Festa Major 2016: Gràcia's big party!

You'll find plenty of things to do every day during the Gràcia Festa Major. For example, from August 13 to 21, at 6pm daily, you can visit the bomb shelter in Plaça del Diamant, and you'll also find a wine route featuring D.O. Catalonia vintages in various decorated streets each evening.

There will be plenty of food on offer too. The Plaça Jardines Manuel Torrente turns into Tasta Gràcia, a space that brings gastronomic culture to the Festa Major. There's also an Artisan Fair in Plaça de la Virreina, and another on Passeig de Sant Joan.

Kids can cool off in Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia every day at noon with a fiesta of water games.

Every Festa Major worth its salt starts off with a bang. So Sunday the 14th at 6.30pm, drummers mark the beginning of the party in a parade that starts in Plaça de la Vila, where local journalist Imma Sust also reads the opening speech, at 7.30pm.

If the heat's getting to you, head to Plaça de la Vila from noon for water games, or to C/Mozart at the same time for a big water fight.

Dine on grilled sardines and delicious 'pa amb tomàquet' (tomato bread) at 9pm in Plaça de Sant Miquel, or enjoy a night of outdoor cinema and brushing up on your language skills with 'La rumba de Barcelona' (1992) and 'Triana pura y pura' (Ricardo Pachón, 2013), from 10pm in Plaça del Poble Romaní.

Get the day started with a pilates class in Plaça Rovira i Trias at 11.30am, and to cool off, head to Plaça de la Vila at noon for water games.

To check out a traditional Catalan dance, and to get the kids involved if you've got them, head to C/ de la Perla at 12.30pm for a 'sardana' beginners' workshop for children.

In C/ del Progrès there's a vermouth charity event to benefit people of the Sahara at 1.30pm. And at 7pm in Plaça del Poble Romaní there's a rumba-clapping workshop with Peret Reyes. Also in C/ de la Perla, at 9.30pm, you'll find hairdressing and beard styling available.

The 'castellers' (human tower builders) are the stars of the day today, with local faves, Castellers de Gràcia, doing the Baixada del Pilar Caminant – this is a walking human tower! – from Plaça del Sol to Plaça de la Vila (7.30pm). Once in Plaça de la Vila, you'll see 'castells' (the human towers themselves) built by groups of castellers: Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia and La Colla Jove Castellers de Sitges.

Earlier in the day, on Passeig de Sant Joan, you can check out a demonstration of the canine unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra, at 11.30am and again at 12.30pm. For kids, at 11am there's a ceramics workshop in C/ del Perill, and at 5pm they can try their hand at guitar with Marc 'Dantuvi' Menéndez in Plaça del Poble Romaní. In the same square, at 8pm, you can have a Cuban dinner. Later, if you want to see if swing dancing is for you, head to Plaça del Diamant where there's a workshop at 10pm.

But the big castellers party of this year's Festa Major is on Saturday the 20th at 6pm in Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, featuring the casteller groups Xiquets de Reus, Castellers de Vilafranca and Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia. If you want to see how the Xiquets de Valls do their thing, check them out also in Plaça de la Vila, from 5.30pm.

Fans of dancing should head to Plaça del Diamant at 7.30pm for some traditional dance, and there will also be an open class for salsa and bachata (7pm) in Travessia de Sant Antoni. In the same street, at 11pm, there's a big party with Chica B, the session DJ from hugely popular local club parties Churros con Chocolate and La Ká, who'll play '80s and '90s electropop tunes.

The Espai Joanic goes 'beastly'. At 11.15am and at 5.30pm there are workshops with dogs and interactive toys; at noon there's a circuit of canine activities, and at 12.30pm and at 6pm, those who are looking to share their home with a pet will be able to choose from the catwalk of animals up for adoption. At 7pm you can take in the show of dog tricks and dancing dogs. And if you're hungry, there's a vegan dinner at 9pm.

For something different, at 11.30am you'll find games with water balloons for kids in Plaça de Sant Miquel, and at noon a reflexology workshop in C/Mozart. At 5pm, put your wrists to the test in the table football championship in Plaça Rovira.

It's the last day of the festival, but there's plenty of sparks flying still, with the 'correfoc' (literally 'fire run) on today. First there's a correfoc for kids at 6.30pm in Plaça del Diamant, which heads along C/Astúries, Plaça de la Virreina an Torrent de l'Olla, among other streets, and ends up in Plaça de la Vila.

The 'big' correfoc lights up at 9.30pm and goes from Plaça Trilla along Gran de Gràcia, Maurici Serrahima, Torrent de l'Olla, Bellver, Plaça del Nord, Rubí, Torrent d'en Vidalet, Terol, Diluvi and Plaça de la Vila.

But there's much more going on in the day as well. At 10am you can check out the giants parading along the decorated streets, and at 3.45pm the gymkhana gets underway in Plaça de la Vila.

If you've got kids, you might want to head for the puppet show in Plaça del Diamant at 11am. And then at 12.30pm and 6pm in Espai Joanic you've got two more chances to adopt an animal that needs a loving home.

If you fancy lunch in the neighbourhood, join in on the big fideuá (similar to paella but with noodles instead of rice) feeding fest in Espai Joanic at 2pm.

The Catalan version of the Buena Vista Social Club brings to the Gràcia festival their 'dream' ('son' means dream in Catalan) to fill the festival with guaracha, bolero, nengon and trova rhythms. If those words are all strange to you, don't miss Son de La Rambla and it'll all become clear.