Dragon Festival
dragon festival spanish free festival ran held los cigarrones riverbed rio guadalfeo km south órgiva santa fé granada spain month march culminating weekend nearest march equinox festival celebration various alternative culture includes live music theater town órgiva garrison town marked front line throughout spanish civil war renowned alternative hippy scene flooding washed away huge swath land cigarrones clearing way gathering march huge sail depicting jolly dragon raised cigarrones dragon festival born hundred people present could never imagined nearly people would attend although majority people bought land cigarrones party festival idea many people turning wild weekend occasion continued week inevitably caused rift community police presence virtually nonexistent festival increasing size attracting attention local partido popular pp majority council mayor placed prohibition order festival called police reinforcement order create noticeable police presence dragon festival causing national medium stir firstly banning fiesta andalucia simply unheard mostly two people died festival attempt made authority prevent dragon festival taking place heavy guardia civil road leading festival site however impending iraq war gave voice festival call peace several week resident festival site daily dressed pink sang way police line offer police tea cake eve festival police stepped aside allowing festival take place local election brought new partido socialista obrero español psoe centerleft mayoress power previously quite vocal embracing dragon festival however unanimously felt festival community interface local authority way go since could mean restrictive regulation control year member cigarrones neighborhood made opposition festival known early huge earth moving vehicle arrived festival site support guardia civil one member policia local proceeded excavate hole two meter deep two meter wide across entire festival site claiming tree planting project two thousand hole excavated across public land making impossible park anywhere dragon festival would possible relatively small area profestival owner land left without hole two day spring equinox prohibition order posted proclaiming ban dragon festival ground health safety anyone found organizing event would charged convicted receive hefty fine within day posting prohibition order seven profestival land owner received paperwork telling found guilty administrative charge ie ignoring local authority ban fined sum thirty thousand fifty euro failure pay would mean seizure asset including land charge three people dropped remaining four people taken case crown court granada ground nothing done enforce ban festival defense land owner claim could done little stop even wanted court case resolved exception one mr alex brimmel mr brimmels lawyer claim charge mr brimmel brought town hall expired town hall bypassed normal channel case cannot resolved mr brimmel brought case town hall unconstitutional practice order resolve case long wet winter flooded cigarrones filling hole cutting access effectively stopping large gathering estimated people created free festival santa fe km west granada km north orgiva widely perceived new home dragon festival dragon festival continues santa fe official dragon festival dragon festival myspace