Iljieli Mellehin

The Mellieha local council will be organising three days of activities to mark the end of summer celebrations while highlighting the town’s characteristics.

‘Iljieli Mellehin’ will be organised on 12, 13 and 14 September inviting locals and tourists to enjoy evenings of entertainment, international cuisine, sport, dance, culture, art, as well as history.

Five stages will be set up around Mellieha parish square, the sanctuary of Our Lady and the main road to host a number of top local musicians, choirs and bands. The list of performers includes Paul Abela and the New Cuorey, as well as the choral and orchestral society Maria Bambina and the La Vittoria and Imperial band clubs.

Meanwhile, guided tours to some of Mellieha’s places of interest will be held for visitors to learn more about this locality’s rich history and natural surroundings. Visits to the Red Tower and the bird sanctuary in Mellieha Bay, the Manikata hamlet, Selmun Castle and nearby Mgiebah will be held.

A dedicated area for children will also be set up for their favourite local characters to entertain them. In the meantime, animators will roam the streets encouraging children to take part in various activities and games where they will be able to win a number of prizes. During the afternoons and early evenings basketball, football and netball games will be organised for the public.

Over 40 local organisations are to participate in ‘Iljieli Mellehin’ where evenings are usually dead quiet following the village festa which falls on 8 September. Art Club 2000 and Ladies Circle will be exhibiting their works of art in selected venues while the public will be able to take part in a ‘Mellieha wall of art’ display where they will be colouring in some of Mellieha’s beautiful views. The ‘Mellieha wall of art’ will be donated during this year’s edition of the charity fund-raiser l-Istrina. Mellieha artists will also be exhibiting and selling their works of art from some of Mellieha’s prominent shops along the main road in an art exhibition entitled ‘A Walk with Artists’.

The Mellieha Stage friends will be holding a number of plays for theatre lovers as well as enactments of historic highlights will be performed at various times during the three day event.

During this weekend, Mellieha will be confirming its position on Monopoly Malta. This will be the first event where Monopoly Malta fans will be able to book their Monopoly Malta board game while visitors will have the chance to learn more about the world’s most popular board game, now adapted to Maltese lifestyle, culture and most prominent towns and villages.

A number of farmers too will be invited to showcase and sell local products on Saturday evening. Visitors will then be able to taste some of Malta’s finest wines, limoncello, olive oil, vegetables, honey and other local produce.

Organisations from Mellieha’s twin towns Adenau in Germany and Cavriglia in Italy, will be joining in the activities, displaying their typical regional food and wine.

The activities are being organised by Mellieha local council in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture, MTA, Kunsill Malti ghall-Isport and GO Mobile.