Calçotada de Valls Festival 2014: the Gegant and a record

The 2014 edition

• Date: 26 Jan 2014
• Location: Valls (Tarragona)
• Edition: 33rd Gran Festa de la Calçotada

The 25 years of the Gegant del Calçot

The organisers' brochure announced the Gegant del Calçot, the festival's giant figure, restored by Unió Anelles de la Flama. It celebrated 25 years of leading the Gran Cercavila de la Calçotada. That year's parade was dedicated to the folklore of Camp de Tarragona.

The same programme documented a connection with Japan: the artist Atsuko Arai was organising a celebration for that day in Ooya, near Kobe, next to the Ooya Art Village. The proposal united art and gastronomy and announced a tasting inspired by the Vallense calçotada. It was a parallel activity in Japan, not part of the in-person tour of Valls.

Documentation: Gran Festa 2014 Programme — organisation brochure

275 calçots and a new record

The 3Cat chronicle reported the triumph of Adrià Wegrzyn with 275 calçots and approximately 3.8 kilos. The official archive sets the weighing at 3,830 grams. The news placed the victory as the contestant's eighth and fifth in a row, and explained that the rules of the contest would prevent him from participating the following year.

The same report estimated around 35,000 visitors and some 60,000 calçots consumed at the festival. These were figures for that day, separate from the season's agricultural production. The 2014 result became a reference point for later editions and was eventually surpassed by the 2018 record.

Documentation: 3CatInfo: the calçot-eating contest winner breaks the record (27 January 2014) · Gran Festa: official table of winners of the calçots eating contest

A memory that unites gastronomy and popular culture

The restoration of the Gegant and the contest show two ways of remembering the same festival. One belongs to the festive elements that go out into the streets; the other, at the outcome of a competition. Bringing the two together prevents the history of calçotada from being limited to counting pieces and kilos: it also explains who represents the product in the parades and how it is projected outside of Valls.

The historical brochure allows you to expand this selection. Their rules, telephone numbers and agricultural data must be read in their 2014 context, without using them as current information.

A look at the 2014 programme

Selection of documented activities from that edition.

1. 13:0026 Jan 2014

   Calçots eating contest

   El Pati Grandstand

Explore more of the festival

Learn about the calçots eating contest and check its record →

Check the next edition of 2027 and discover the calçotada restaurants from Valls and Alt Camp.

Return to archive of all editions →