Cabrejas del Pinar celebrates 50 years of Mussel Festival

The town of Cabrejas del Pinar in Soria celebrated the 50th anniversary of its unique ‘Fiesta del Mejillón’ (Mussel Festival) on August 22. Despite being located in an inland area surrounded by pine forests, hundreds of kilograms of mussels are brought in from Galicia for the event.

For the 2026 anniversary edition, 650 kilograms of mussels were steamed and served with tomato sauce prepared by volunteers. The tradition originated in the 1970s as a casual gathering of young people known as the ‘Que te va la vara’ group, which eventually evolved from a simple summer meetup into a major official tradition on the local festive calendar.