In Malta, we have the long lasting tradition of the village feast. Village feasts generally occur in summer, whereby a feast or two is happening every week. The feasts have a religious background but are also part of the cultural and social life in the towns and villages. This is partly because they are organised by the local community for the community.
Throughout the year, teams of volunteers help raise funds and produce the beautiful fireworks that are fired throughout the week of the feast.
The impressive fireworks, the joyful marches and the statues, all add up to the atmosphere that brings locals of all ages together.
The feast is hence not owned by the government or by some private entity but by the local community and various aspects of it are managed by the same community. We can then, consider village feasts as social and cultural commons, since it brings people together and is a long-held tradition. A number of locals (including young people) participate actively in the feast - some by producing fireworks, others by carrying statues or ornaments, or fundraising. The feast is also one of the few yearly activities where the main streets are closed for cars, hence given back to pedestrians.
However, some parts of the village feast need to change - poles placed on narrow pavements blocking access to wheelchair users are not cool and neither are the extreme rivalries in towns with more than one feast or the lack of regulations on the use of percolate that ends up on agricultural produce, hence into our bodies. With some changes, the village feast can be enjoyed by everyone without having any effect on the sense of community that it creates.
Tags commons islandlife malta feast