Change of date of the return of the D * na Festival for this 2021
The regional secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer, and the mayor of Dénia, Vicent Grimalt, have signed today in the City Council the collaboration agreement to make possible this year a new edition of D * na Festival, which will take place on the weekend of December bridge, days 3, 4, 5 and 6, and will feature the local hospitality sector, "a sector that was badly hit during the pandemic: our bars and restaurants, the cooks and producers who have been behind, so longed for along the way. throughout this strange period, so punished by the sacrifice that they have had to assume, closing doors, for everyone ", Grimalt recalled.
The contribution of Valencian Community Tourism amounts to € 200.000, with which the new appointment with D * na will materialize, this year with a new format: the locals adhering to the initiative will offer a program of menus associated with local products or complementary activities such as tastings, pairings with music, sessions with guest chefs, etc. In addition, gastronomy promotion activities will be organized in different public spaces ('showcookings', lectures, sale of special products under the D * na brand, specific activities for the press, critics and 'influencers', among others).
According to the agreement, "D * na 2021 is designed because the entire agri-food and tourism value chain can be claimed, as it forms tourism excellence as a whole", also linked to Dénia as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. For this reason, this new experience of D * na accommodates restaurants, bars, cafes and ice cream parlors, workplaces and agri-food trade and tourist service companies.
Francesc Colomer has pointed out that the new dates chosen for the celebration of the festival (originally scheduled for the end of October), bring this great event even closer to the Michelin Gala, which is based in the city of Valencia and the chef as gastronomic coordinator Quique Dacosta, creative director also of the D * na Festival de Dénia. "I am aware of Quique's interest and efforts to link the two appointments, to turn the D * na into a preamble to the Michelin awards and to take advantage of it to value all the good that we have in Dénia and the Valencian Community".
Finally, the regional secretary of Tourism has claimed the resilience of the hospitality sector, "which from an apparent weakness has given a lesson in life, respect and behavior during the pandemic." "Our tourism sector, in constant evolution, will be vital in the future that now awaits us for reconnection with life, for an emotional comeback. Tourism is the answer for these new times."