Gran Canaria News: Wednesday, September 30 Roundup

Here's what happened on Gran Canaria yesterday — the stories most likely to matter if you're living here, visiting soon, or just like keeping up with the island.

Goodbye calima: AEMET confirms October starts with rain
After weeks of heat and dusty, hazy skies, Spain's meteorological agency AEMET has confirmed the calima is finally clearing out, with October opening across the Canary Islands with a proper change in the weather — rain on the way rather than more Saharan dust. For residents who've spent the last couple of weeks dealing with muggy heat and haze, this is the shift a lot of people have been waiting for, and it also means noticeably clearer skies and views over the coming days, which is good news if you've got any scenic drives or photography planned.

Arucas gears up for the Gran Canaria Sum Festival
The Gran Canaria Sum Festival 2026 returns this weekend, bringing music and entertainment to the northern town of Arucas — known the rest of the year for its striking neo-Gothic church and its rum distillery. If you're in the north of the island this weekend and want a taste of local festival culture outside the usual resort-town entertainment, this is worth building a day around.

Free cheese tastings and workshops mark World Tourism Day
La Casa del Queso is holding a free day of activities this Saturday to mark World Tourism Day, with tasting pairings and artisan cheese-making workshops open to the public. Canarian cheese — particularly the flower-rennet varieties from the north of the island — doesn't get nearly as much attention from visitors as it deserves, and a free, hands-on introduction like this is a genuinely good way to actually understand what you're eating rather than just buying a wedge at a supermarket.

TEMUDAS wraps its 30th year with over 61,000 visitors
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's Theatre, Music and Dance Festival has just closed out its 30th anniversary edition, drawing more than 61,000 people across the run — a solid reminder that the capital's cultural calendar runs considerably deeper than most visitors who stick to the southern beaches ever see. Worth keeping on your radar for next year if culture and performance are part of what you look for on a trip.

Also worth knowing
Las Palmas city council says it has cut energy consumption from street lighting along Avenida de Escaleritas by 75% following an upgrade — a small infrastructure story, but a useful sign of the kind of efficiency work going on behind the scenes across the capital this year.