The second Feria de Oportunidades will be on at the end of February, with a number of stands from local retailers selling a range of products including clothing, fashion, leather goods and electronics items. The first Feria was held back in February of last year, but its future was put in doubt after the regional government of Andalucia imposed a fine of €3000 on the organisers, claiming that the fair was in breach of Sunday trading laws.
The 2012 Feria was held in the marquee used for the previous weeks carnival, but according to the Junta, the Andalucian Trading Act prohibits shops larger than 300 square metres in size from opening on a Sunday. Although the individual stalls were smaller than this size, the marquee that the event was held in was bigger than 300m2, hence the justification for the fine. The Nerja Business Assocation and the local council both called on the Junta to revoke the fine and cancelled the next fair due to be held in September 2012.
Under pressure, the Junta subsequently shelved the fine, claiming that as the fair was held in a public space (Plaza España) the Trading Act did not apply, opening the way for the fair to be held again this year.
The feria will be open from 11am to 9pm from the 28th of February to the 3rd of March 2013 at the Sala Mercado (next to the Mercadona Supermarket).