The heat has arrived properly now. The beaches are full, the terraces stay busy well past midnight, and the other night the moon rose over the sea a deep, glowing red. If you missed it, ask anyone who was out on the paseo. One of those evenings that reminds you why you're here.

Summer here always brings the big names to the coast, and this year's no exception. Deep Purple, Faithless and Two Door Cinema Club are all on the coast over the coming days.

The Feria de Estepona is the big one this issue, six days of the town at full volume from 7 July. Let's start there.

From Tuesday 7 to Sunday 12 July, the 📍fairground and the streets around it turn into the loudest, most colourful week of the Estepona year. This is the Feria y Fiestas Mayores, the town's big annual party, and it's worth knowing how it unfolds so you can pick your moment.

It opens on Tuesday 7 July at 20:00 with the traditional parade of giants and big-headed figures (gigantes y cabezudos) through the centre, led by the Charanga 404 brass band. At 21:00 comes the opening speech from journalist Antonio Jiménez, with a performance by Estepona-born flamenco singer Rocío Bazán. The night builds to 22:30, when the fairground lights are switched on to the town's municipal band and a fireworks display.

After that, the Caseta Municipal (the main marquee) hosts free concerts and performances every day and late into the night, with a long list of artists including Joana Jiménez, Los Yakis, Paco Candela, Nuria Fergó and Diego Martín. A few days worth marking:

If you've never done the Feria, go at least once in the early evening when the horses are out and the light is golden, then again late when the marquee is in full swing. Two very different experiences, both worth it.

📍 Recinto Ferial (Fairgrounds), Estepona
💶 Free entry
🔗 See the full agenda here

The calm before the Feria: this is a week for culture rather than crowds, with two flamenco nights and a candlelit piano concert before the fairground takes over.

Thu 2 · Manilva: El Rincón Esotérico on the Sabinillas seafront, from 19:00 to midnight. An evening market with an unusual bent: crystals and crafts, holistic therapies, and all manner of mystical odds and ends to browse. You'll find it set up along the front between 📍Plaza de los Maestros and La Colonia. Worth a wander even if you just come for the sea air.

Thu 2 · Manilva: 80s Karaoke Disco at 📍The Café American Bistro in Sabinillas, from 19:30. Karaoke Keith on the 80s classics, a raffle, and a prize for best fancy dress. It's all in aid of the ACE dog charity, so a good night out for a good cause. 20€ including tapas.

Fri 3: Flamenco night at the 📍Peña Flamenca de Estepona, from 21:30. This is the real thing, the town's own flamenco club, with singer Armando Mateos, guitarist Gaspar Rodríguez and dancers Daniela Ramos and Nicolás Jurado.

Sat 4: Flamenco show with cantaor Carlos Brías and guitarist José Satorre at 📍Galería Hubert, 20:00. A more intimate setting than the Peña, with Satorre, a Málaga guitarist who has shared stages with names like Manolo Sanlúcar, backing the deep, traditional cante. 20€, reservations on 608 359 656.

Sat 4: Piano by Candlelight at 📍Parque El Calvario, 22:00. Pianist Rafael Montalvo plays a tribute to Ludovico Einaudi, whose music you'll know from films like Intouchables, in a setting overlooking the lake lit by hundreds of candles. Probably the most atmospheric hour of the week. Free.

Friday does the heavy lifting this week, with three gigs to pick from across the evening:

The last 16 has already served up its heartbreak. Germany are out, beaten by Paraguay on penalties, which, as a German, I'm choosing not to dwell on. The Netherlands are gone too, knocked out by Morocco in a shoot-out of their own.

For the many British readers among you, England played their round-of-16 tie last night. The Three Lions came from behind to beat a spirited DR Congo side 2–1. A nervier night than the scoreline suggests, but a deserved place in the quarter-finals. Spain are in action this evening at 21:00.

Wherever your loyalties lie, bars around town will be showing the big games, so get there early for a table if you want to watch with a crowd.

Where to watch in Estepona:

🔗 Full official schedule here.

The Feria has deeper roots than the fairground rides suggest. Like most Andalusian ferias, Estepona's probably began life as a livestock market, a place to trade horses and cattle, that gradually grew into the week-long celebration it is today. That history is still visible every year in the Paseo de Caballos, the horse parade that remains one of the Feria's proudest traditions.

It's also why the town has not one feria but two: the smaller Feria de San Isidro in May, honouring the patron saint of farmers, and this one, the Feria Mayor, the big summer party.

The markets that come round every week, so you always know what's on where. A feature I'll run from now on.

Wednesdays · Mercadillo de Estepona. The big traditional one: fruit, veg, clothes, shoes and household bits at local prices. 📍Calle Francia / Calle Alemania, 9:00–14:00.

Sundays · Mercadillo de Puerto. A smaller, breezier affair by the marina: summer clothes, bags, jewellery and local art, with a coffee on the terraces after. 📍Puerto Deportivo, 9:00–14:00.

Sundays · Mercadillo Plaza de Toros. A flea market for antiques, collectibles and bric-a-brac at the bullring. One catch: it doesn't run every Sunday, so best to check before you head over. 📍Plaza de Toros, 9:00–15:00.

Sundays · Mercadillo Rastro, Sabinillas. One of the coast's best-loved flea markets, with over 100 stalls: second-hand finds, antiques, vinyl and a growing row of local craft sellers. 📍Recinto Ferial de San Luis, 9:00–14:00.

Fri–Sun 18:00–00:00 · Mercado del Mar, Sabinillas. A seasonal craft market right on the seafront: handmade goods, accessories and art under the stars. 📍Paseo Marítimo de Sabinillas (by La Noria), until 30 August.

A strong week just up the coast in Marbella, if you're happy to travel a little for the big names:

Thu 9 July: Deep Purple play 📍Starlite for the first time, seven decades of hard rock from the band that gave the world Smoke on the Water. 22:00. From 69€.

Thu 9 July: Faithless bring their live electronic show to 📍Marbella Arena, marking 25 years of anthems like Insomnia and God Is a DJ. 20:00. From 72,80€.

Fri 10 July: Two Door Cinema Club at 📍Marbella Arena, celebrating 15 years of their debut album Tourist History. 20:00. From 44,80€.

Things further out, so you can plan ahead:

Registration is also now open for the town's Summer Courses and Workshops (Cursos y Talleres), running 13 July to 28 August: flamenco guitar, percussion, ballroom and Latin dance, theatre and crafts for adults and children. Sign up early by email to [email protected]

That's your week. Whatever you get up to, get out early or late to skip the worst of the heat, keep the water handy, and make the most of these calmer evenings, because next week the Feria arrives and Estepona won't be quiet for a while.

See you next Thursday.

Stefan