Ibilaldia


Ibilaldia meaning trip, journey, or march in English is a festival organized every year the last Sunday of May or first of June to help the ikastolak in Biscay, Basque Country in Spain.
Ibilaldia is essentially a volunteer walk around a circuit of 5-10 kilometers, that is surrounded by food stands and entertainment, and walkers sometimes make the walk in support of an organization. The money they collect it is used to help the Basque schools in the province of Biscay. It is celebrated too to reinforce Basque culture and language.
As a solidary fest, everything is organized by the Ikastolas. Each year a different village is the organizer. Parents, teachers and students help to have everything prepared for the main day.

History

At the end of the 1970s the movement created to promote the use of Basque language in schools grew a lot and started to be structured. The festival of Ibilaldia was born in 1978 in Getxo promoted by this general context of creation of new ikastolas. From 1981 it became an annual public event organized in these villages:

Similar festivals

These are the festivals organized in other provinces of the Basque Country: