Noon Canarias festival in Arrecife: free midday concerts until 31 October

In Arrecife, chamber music happens at lunchtime. That is the premise of the Noon Canarias festival, a series of small-scale concerts held at the Casa de la Cultura Agustín de la Hoz, starting at 12:00 with free admission until the hall is full. The most recent date, Saturday 22 August, featured the Dúo Smetti in a programme for violin and cello.

The line-up runs through the autumn: Lajalada on 29 August, Ensemble Durón on 5 September, Trío Néstor on 19 September, Alexis Cárdenas on 26 September, Cuarteto Improntu on 3 October, Vientar Trío on 10 October, Telmo Carvajal on 17 October, Dúo Fraute on 24 October and Cuarteto Imprevisto on 31 October. All on Saturdays, all at midday.

This eighth edition opened on 11 July with Camerata Lacunensis, followed by Índice y Medio (18 July), the Torsten de Winkel–Bimbache openART Trio (25 July), Llamalagua (1 August) and Trío Iraiv (8 August). The festival is run by the platform Vector de Ideas, while the Arrecife dates form part of the Cultura Arrecife programme of the culture department of the Ayuntamiento de Arrecife, headed by councillor Abigail González.

The concept has stayed the same across eight editions: bringing chamber music into distinctive venues around the Canary Islands through short daytime concerts, with the focus on ensembles and performers based in the archipelago.

Practical notes for visitors

There is no booking system and no numbered seating; entry is on a first-come basis until capacity is reached, so arriving a little before 12:00 is sensible, particularly for the better-known names on the bill. The midday slot fits neatly into a Saturday in the capital: the Charco de San Ginés, the Puente de las Bolas and the seafront promenade are all within a short walk of the venue, and lunch afterwards is easy to arrange in the old harbour area. It is also a reliable fallback on windy days, when the beaches on the east coast are less appealing.