August is the peak of the feast season, with 32 village feasts. September has 15. October drops to 8.
If you have been putting off going to one, September is the last month with a real choice.
Nine of the fifteen fall in the first eight days
The month is front-loaded. Valletta has one on the 5th.
Four more land on the 6th, in Qawra, Sliema, Xlendi and Żurrieq.
Then four fall together on the 8th.
After that it thins out fast: one on the 13th in Ħaż-Żabbar, three on the 20th, and two on the 27th.
So the first weekend and the following Tuesday carry most of the month. If you are here for a week and want to see one, come in that week.
Four towns share 8 September
Mellieħa, Naxxar, Senglea and Xagħra all hold the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady on the same day.
It is also Victory Day, a public holiday, so the whole island is off work.
Senglea is the one to pick if you want the harbour setting, with the regatta running the same afternoon.
Mellieħa and Naxxar are easier to reach by bus. Xagħra means going over to Gozo for the day.
The Grand Harbour regatta and four feasts on one public holiday makes the 8th the busiest day left in the year.
September feasts are more comfortable than August ones
The evenings are cooler by several degrees and the crowds are smaller.
Standing in a village square for three hours in September is a different experience from doing it in the middle of August.
The fireworks and the bands are the same. The band clubs do not scale their effort to the month.
Late September evenings can want a light jacket, which nobody expects on a feast night.
How to do one properly
Arrive around 19:00, before the statue comes out of the church.
Park well outside the village. The streets close from the afternoon and stay closed past midnight.
The big fireworks are usually the eve rather than the feast day itself, so check which night you want.
Buses run, but not late enough on most routes. Plan the way home before you go.
Finding the one nearest you
Every feast on both islands, with its date and village, is in the feast calendar.
There is also a guide to how a feast works, day by day, and one on the national days that fall in the same month.
