culture - #Cassàdestapa, portal turístic de Cassà de la Selva

Culture is very important for Cassà de la Selva. There is lots to enjoy:

Centre Cultural Sala Galà is where art, music and reading take place in Cassà de la Selva. It is a multi-use building holding the library, the music school and the Josep Lloveras School of Art. It also has an auditorium where conferences and cultural events take place.

Have a look at the activities organized by Centre Cultural Sala Galà HERE (we are sorry but this content is only available in Catalan).

CONTACT
Centre Cultural Sala Galà
Carrer del Molí, 9
972 462 820
info @ salagala.cat
www.salagala.cat

History of Centre Cultural Sala Galà

From 1911 to1969: a dance hall
In 1910 Narcís Abellí i Dalmau, baker of Cassà de la Selva, bought three plots in Mel and Molí streets in order to build a dance hall. From 1911 to 1969 there were always dances.

From 1969: Sir Thoma’s
In 1963, Secundina Abellí i Bota, the owner of the building, sold it to Tomàs Grau i Balamaña. In the same year, the town voted in order to change the name Sala Galà into Sir Thoma’s. 1969 was the first year of the famous disco Sir Thoma’s.

From 1998: Centre Cultural Sala Galà
In 1998 the town hall of Cassà bought the building in order to transform it into the Centre Cultural Sala Galà (a cultural place). It was opened in 2003 and incorporated the library, the music school and the Josep Lloveras School of Art..

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Properes activitats del Centre Cultural Sala Galà

Sala Centre Recreatiu is a theatre with a large variety of cultural events. It offers artístic performances suitable for every type of audience, in a theatre located inthe very centre of town, next to the well-known cafè el Bar Centre Recreatiu, from where you can find the entrance.

Have a look at the events of Sala Centre Recreatiu HERE (we are sorry but this content is only available in Catalan).

CONTACT
Town Hall of Cassà de la Selva
Rambla Onze de Setembre, 107
972 46 00 05
culturacassa This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sala Centre Recreatiu and its history

Transforming it into a cinema
The link between Sala Centre Recreatiu and culture in Cassà has its origin at the beginning of the 20th century.. In January 1908, the premises, owned by Círculo Recreativo, had the first screening of a film by Ignacio Aguilera. After that, Cinematógrafo Aguilera became Cine Moderno. It was run by Josep Taché and became the most important cinema in town showing silent films like Ben-Hur. After the Civil War, the name of the cinema changed again in concondance with the new political era: Cine Nacional. It showed films during the weekends and on some Wednesdays. The programme consisted of two films and, from 1943, a NO-DO, documentary news of Francoist exaltation. For a long time it shared the films with the other cinema in town: Cine Victoria. People from Cassà called them Cine de la Coma and Cine del Passeig.

From the sixties: an establishment with different uses
At the end of the sixties, the committee of the association decided to refurbish the premises in order to improve the quality of film showing, something of great interest at that time. There were few film screenings and that was the main entertainment for people in town. During the eighties, a disco was opened in the Building, which did not last long. At the beginning of the 90s, films were no longer screened, like in many places in the country. Cine de la Coma was the place were Pastorets were performed or Premis Literaris de la Colla Excursionista were held among other activities. With the new century, the establishment was not used anymore and its deterioration was obvious. 

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Animation and Short Films in Cassà de la Selva is a weekend at the end of February celebrating cinema organised by the cinema club Cineclub Vuitimig.
One of the most popular activities is “Correcurts”, a competition of short films. Participants must shoot a short film in Cassà de la Selva in 24 hours, based on a theme chosen by the organisation.

Programació

There is a wide range of leisure activities in Cassà ranging from cultural to sport activities. In Cassà we have:

The Giants of Cassà are a unique couple of Egyptian Pharaohs. They were made in 1959 with the financial help of people from town. As they are so special, the ,mayor of that time, Mr Josel Marial Vidal, sent a letter to the president of Egypt asking for a symbolic donation for the giants inspired by their culture.

Years later, the mayor Francesc Nadal added bigheads to the troupe. The troupe of giants and bigheads is completed with the horses, starring in different dances.

The giants of Cassà have received great recognition and you can find them, along with the horses and bigheads, in Centre Cultural Sala Galà. The giants dance in the streets sometimes during the year, but it is during the Festa Major that they dance the most popular dances.

The Literary Awards has been a long-standing reputation, having been first set up in 1967. Alongside the Recull de Blanes, they became the oldest Literary Awards in the Girona area. 

Well-known writers such as Vicenç Villatoro and Rafael Vallbona won three awards at the start of their literary careers.

Over the last few years, La Colla Excursionista has motivated and promoted reading and writing in Cassà’s schools via the Literary Awards. The third and fourth years of secondary school take part with their texts: they read and work on them in class. The winning stories are published in a collection which is then given out to the schools. These stories are also illustrated by students attending the local art school.

The most important festival in Cassà de la Selva is the local town festival, Festa Major de la Santa Espina, which is celebrated on the third full moon of spring, 56 days after Easter.

The Festa Major are special days infused with the town spirit. Here are a few of the best activities: the marvellous Nit dels Músics, pictures on the pavement, el Cassà es vesteix de música and and the traditional dances of the giants, bigheads, and little horses. Old or Young, there is something for everyone at the Festa Major of Cassà.

Summer evenings are very lively in the plaça de la Coma in Cassà de la Selva.

Every Wednesday in July and the first fortnight in August, the Cineclub Vuitimig organises free screenings of open-air cinema, which attracts hundreds of people.

Over the same period, but every Friday, there are other events held outdoors: dances, musical performances, shows...

On the Sunday of the Festa Major the little ones gravitae to the plaça de la Coma for Pictures on the Pavement, one of the most popular events of the festival and which has been going on in the town since1983.

The children have a space reserved in the square in which they must draw a Picture capturin a scene from the Festa Major. A panel of judges then evaluate the pictures and choose a winner.

It was the local painter Josep Lloveras who first set up this activity and which for some years now has been organised by the town’s School of Art.