This annual celebration, first held in 2009, traditionally takes place on the Saturday before the San Marcial Alarde, between June 23 and July 1. However, this year's decision to move the date forward has not been welcomed by Betti Gotti, the association responsible for organizing the event, which has voiced its disagreement via a statement on social media.
“"Moving the event to that date is not a consensual decision between the City Council and the organization; rather, we have been forced to move the event to dates prior to the traditional start of the festivities, seven days before the city's big day, a decision made for reasons that are not ours to explain."
According to the statement, this date change has created significant problems for the event's execution. Services such as catering staff, music technicians, txarangas (traditional Basque brass bands), and other musical groups had already been contracted for the originally agreed-upon date. Furthermore, the date had been arranged more than ten months in advance. The Popular Meal typically gathers around 1,800 people for lunch and approximately 4,000 participants in the kalejira (parade) from Ficoba back to the center of Irun.
Despite this situation, Betti Gotti has proposed organizing a popular breakfast on June 27, which would include a goitibera (homemade cart) competition and the participation of the txarangas already hired for that day, aiming to keep an event within the festive calendar. This proposal, as per the statement, has not yet received a response from the City Council. The Herri Bazkari will proceed on June 20, despite the organization's opposition to the date, featuring the traditional kalejira from central Irun to Ficoba.
Betti Gotti has declined to make further statements, adhering to their published communication. In it, they emphasize their desire to avoid “a war” and instead focus on the “festive, popular, and healthy atmosphere of this day for the cuadrillas (groups of friends).” This association, based in Irun and Hondarribia, promotes the Basque language (euskera) and culture through various events, such as the arrival of Olentzero, the cuadrillas day, or the kantu bazkaria (singing meal) scheduled for May 16. The profits generated from the Herri Bazkari are used, among other initiatives, to fund summer camps for young people aged eight to seventeen, which have already closed their registration period and benefit 160 families.
