• The "Gran Kedada Rural" is being held this year from September 26th to 28th in Kuartango, with a focus on rural women and all those who, through art, culture, communication and entrepreneurship, are reinventing the rural narrative.

• The event will bring together more than 45 activities, more than 40 speakers and 10 artists, over three days.

The Great Rural Gathering returns with its most committed offering. From September 26th to 28th, Kuartango (Álava) will host this event, which has become a benchmark for New Rurality. It will be its fifth edition, the fourth in-person event, filled with talent, culture, tradition, and innovation. It will focus on two key themes: the women who sustain the territory and all the people who are transforming the rural narrative.

“Completing five editions is a cause for celebration, but also for commitment,” emphasizes Rural Citizen, the organizer of La Gran Gedada Rural. For this reason, they have created a program “that highlights those who are leading figures in rural change .” On the one hand, women, thanks to their central role. On the other, all those entrepreneurs, communicators, artists, and cultural activists who are reinventing from within how the rural world is described, perceived, and experienced.

Based on this philosophy, this year's Great Rural Gathering 2025 will feature more than 45 activities, more than 40 speakers, and 10 artists, prioritizing the quality of the proposals. "We bring incredible people who have their feet wet, know the challenges firsthand, and are generating change. These are the voices we need to discover and listen to, not necessarily because of their popularity, but because of their impact and authenticity ," explains Rural Citizen.

There will be entrepreneurs from all regions and sectors, communications professionals, influencers, public officials from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge to small administrations, local action groups, rural development associations, musical acts that are revolutionizing the rural imagination, artisans...

A faculty with a prominent female presence within a carefully curated program for learning, sharing, and enjoying. Over the three days, there will be roundtables and talks on current topics, project presentations, literary and nature activities, technology workshops, concerts, theater, and a market selling local crafts and products.

“After five years of organizing The Great Rural Gathering, we've learned something key: we need spaces where things really happen. Gatherings that inspire us and allow us to return home with connections, inspiration, and renewed motivation. Where people from rural areas can share what they're building and connect, and people from cities can see everything that's happening in the villages. Once again this year, we hope to achieve this goal ,” Rural Citizen emphasizes.

Three days of talent, culture, and tradition at the Kuartango Lab innovation center.

Kuartango Lab, the former 19th-century spa converted into a center for experimentation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, will once again host La Gran Kedada Rural. According to the organizers, "this large and unique space allows for an event with many simultaneous activities, yet with limited capacity, so that people can enjoy a warm atmosphere and feel part of something both grand and intimate."

This is what the participants themselves have dubbed the Kuartango Spirit over the years, "which must be experienced to be understood."

Once again this year, there will be three themed days: Talent, Culture, and Tradition, all seasoned with Innovation, making La Gran Kedada Rural a unique event on the current scene. A gathering that is more than a congress, more than a music festival, more than a craft fair.

- TALENTO will be held on Thursday, September 26th , the flagship event aimed specifically at rural professionals. There will be roundtable discussions on communication, culture, and innovation, with journalists and prominent influencers, entrepreneurs, artisans who have entered the international market, and the Network of Territorial Innovation Centers . There will also be a Coffee & Talk space to learn about rural projects, leadership and Artificial Intelligence workshops , networking, an unscripted conversation with Paco Boya, Secretary of the Demographic Challenge, and, as a finale, a vibrant tribute to rural women .

- CULTURE will take place on Saturday the 27th , a day where the arts become a bridge between territories, cities, and towns. The musical lineup will offer a journey from folk to the avant-garde, from jazz to funk, from jota to soul , always with one foot in tradition and the other in contemporary creation, led by El Naán Trio + Kuttune, Femmm, Fetén Fetén, Lorena Álvarez, and Afrika Bibang. In addition, there will be literary chill out, tai chi, a video game workshop, tote bag customization, tai chi in the heart of nature, an introductory AI workshop, and contemporary dance.

- TRADICIÓN will be held on Sunday the 28th. Unlike previous events, this event is free. Its objective is to honor roots and customs without losing sight of innovation. Visitors will be able to enjoy the magic of the circus and the txalaparta with the prestigious Ortzi Acosta and Hutsun, the power of gospel with international artist Ramón Escalé and the Udaberria Choir, forest bathing, talks, tastings, and a large craft and local produce fair to take a piece of our towns home with us.

In addition, throughout the Great Rural Meeting there will be exhibitions inside Kuartango Lab.
The building will be transformed by "Espíritu Kuartango," an intervention by Álava-based artist Juan Miguel Cortés that includes a custom-created illuminated sign and photocall of recycled letters, as well as a retrospective exhibition exploring his career in sustainable art, always guided by the premise of giving new life to everyday materials. Also on display will be "Retrato Nómada: Kuartango," by Nomad Studio, which was also on display last year.

Space and entrances

To enjoy the Talent and Culture days, one or two-day tickets have been made available,

with special prices for children. Tradición will be free. Tickets

can be purchased through www.lagrankedadarural.org .

This website contains all the event details, as well as useful information on how to get there, where and what to eat (bar, restaurant, food trucks, popular food, etc.), where to stay, and a map of the venue.

The Great Rural Gathering is sponsored by the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Álava, the Kuartango City Council, the Vital Fundazioa Foundation, and Redeia, but there are numerous other local and national partners. The collaborating organizations are the PAC Network, Last Tour, Gasteiz On, Bic Araba, Nekatur, and the Añana Rural Development Association, ESA Group. It also has media partners Diario de Noticias de Álava and Corresponsables, and the support of all Rural Citizen's collaborating organizations.

THE GREAT RURAL MEETING 2025

September 26, 27 and 28

Kuartango Lab (Zuhatzu Kuartango, Araba)

TALENT · Friday 26 [10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.]

10:00 - Opening: Spirit Kuartango [Theater]
11:00 - Workshop: Leaders in Rural Innovation [Badaia Room]
11:00 - Coffee & Talk: The importance of associations in tourism [Arkamo Room]
11:15 - Roundtable: Rural Influencers [Theater]
11:30 - Coffee & Talk: Experiential Interior Design [Arkamo Room]
12:00 - Coffee & Talk: Traditional Knowledge [Arkamo Room]
12:30 - Roundtable: Rural culture for changing the narrative [Theater]
12:30 - Coffee & Talk: Rural Forks: A collective tool to highlight transformative rural initiatives [Arkamo Room]
13:00 - Visit to the Kuartango Lab companies [Badaia Room]
1:00 PM - Coffee & Talk: Life-Enriching Thinking: Creating More Human Organizations [Arkamo Room]
1:30 PM - Cooperation dynamics with culinary and wine tasting [Badaia Room]
1:30 PM - Coffee & Talk: La Vidrioteca [Arkamo Room]

[PAUSE]

15:30 - Coffee & Talk: A Casa Vella [Arkamo Room]
3:30 PM - Roundtable: Rural Journalism: Reporting from the Territory [Theater]
4:00 PM - Workshop: Less bureaucracy, more citizenship: Streamline your City Hall with AI [Baias Room]
4:00 PM - Coffee & Talk: The Invisible Power of Emotional Farming [Arkamo Room]
4:30 PM - Coffee & Talk: Storytelling at Home [Arkamo Room]
4:45 PM - Roundtable: How to enhance the rural world [Theater]
5:00 PM - Coffee & Talk: Tools for supporting generational change [Arkamo Room]
5:30 PM - Join Rural Talent [Arkamo Room]
6:00 PM - Roundtable: How to Create Rural Innovation Ecosystems [Theater]
7:15 PM - Rural Conversations: Paco Boya: Without a Tie or a Script [Theater]
8:00 PM - Tribute to Rural Women [Theater]

All Day – Exhibition: Kuartango Spirit | Juan Miguel Cortés “Juanmi” [Kuartango Lab]
All Day – Exhibition: Nomadic Portrait: Kuartango | Nomad Studio [Marinda Room]

CULTURE · Saturday 27th [10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.]

10:00 - Workshop: Create your video game from scratch (with Roblox) [Añana Room]
11:00 - Literary Chill Out: Literary Café – The power of persuasion: real and literary sects [Arkamo Room]
11:00 - Workshop: Tote Bag Customization [Outdoor]
11:00 - Tai Chi [Outdoor]
12:30 PM - Literary Chill Out: Literary Vermouth – Villains. Reality Surpasses Fiction [Arkamo Room]
13:30 - Concert: Raíz eta Sustraiak – El Naán Trio + Kuttune [Theater]
14:00 - Txoko for children [Baias Room]
14:30 - Utzi Pakean!! [Abroad]
4:00 PM - Workshop: AI in your hands: a useful and creative introductory workshop [Añana Room]
5:00 PM - Literary Chill Out: Talk/Discussion – Territory of Opportunities [Arkamo Room]
6:30 PM - Concert: Femmm [Theater]
8:00 PM - Concert: Roots – Fetén Fetén [Outdoor]
9:30 PM - Concert: Lorena Álvarez [Theater]
11:00 PM - Concert: Afrika Bibang [Theater]

All Day – Exhibition: Kuartango Spirit | Juan Miguel Cortés “Juanmi” [Kuartango Lab]
All Day – Exhibition: Nomadic Portrait: Kuartango | Nomad Studio [Marinda Room]

TRADITION · Sunday 28 [10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.]

10:00 - Local Products and Crafts Fair [Baias Room]
11:00 - Forest Bathing [Outdoor]
12:00 - “Urbasa” show with Ortzi Acosta and Hutsun [Outdoor]
12:00 - Talk: Maskaraba, an encounter with the traditions of Alava [Arkamo Room]
12:30 - Talk: Mostea: Innovation from tradition, with lots of sparkle [Arkamo Room]
1:30 PM - Gospel Concert with the Udaberria Choir and Ramón Escalé [Theater]

All Day – Exhibition: Kuartango Spirit | Juan Miguel Cortés “Juanmi” [Kuartango Lab]
All Day – Exhibition: Nomadic Portrait: Kuartango | Nomad Studio [Marinda Room]

Tickets – Types and prices:

Talent Day: €29

Culture Day: €39

Talent + Culture Days: €49

Talent + Culture Ticket for children under 12: €8

*Access to the Tradition day will be free, without admission

More information: lagrankedadarural.org

Press contact:

Jaione Sanz

E: hola@lagrankedadarural.org

M: 688 72 32 00