December 8th Fair

The December 8th Fair pays tribute to the Immaculate Conception, tutelary patron saint of Tumbes city, and is held from December 1st to 15th, with the main day on the 8th. Unlike other regions where the month is devoted exclusively to anticipating Christmas, in Tumbes the first half of December revolves around this festival, which brings the city to a standstill between devotion and commerce.

The fair is distinguished by its dual, adaptive structure: in even years it scales institutionally to become the Peruvian-Ecuadorian Border Integration Fair, attracting a colossal wave of Ecuadorian and transnational merchants, while in odd years it takes on a more regional and endogenous profile. Around the main day, the venues near the Tumbes river fill with imposing amusement rides, horse racing tracks, agricultural exhibitions and craft fairs displaying local wood carvings and marine costume jewelry, complementing the masses and majestic processions that pay tribute to the Virgin.