April Newsletter

After a noisy but rain-free Fallas, we are now ready for Semana Santa, sunny weather, and spring in Valencia! We are offering many new events this month so read carefully, choose which ones you want to try, and sign up quickly! If an event you’re interested in is full by the time you try to sign up, just email president@iwc-valencia.com to join the waitlist. And as always, do check the IWCV website periodically as new events are added all the time!

TAI CHI WITH NATALIA, 4 classes each beginning on different dates: Monday 6, 13, 20, and 27 April for IWCV Members Only and on Thursday 9, 16, 23, & 30 April – open to all. This a great opportunity to join us for FOUR calm, welcoming Tai Chi sessions in the beautiful Oleka Yoga Studio. Whether you’re a complete beginner or already have experience, you’ll feel right at home. For complete information and to register please click:

For members only: Tai Chi with Natalia – IWCV members only | IWC - Valencia

For Everyone: TAI Chi with Natalia – OPEN TO ALL | IWC - Valencia

FIRST TUESDAY COFFEE MORNING, Tuesday 7 April, 10:30AM outside on the terrazza at La Pizca de Sal Restaurante located at Placa Santa Ursula 3, directly behind the Quart Towers. Open to all women of Valencia, both IWCV members and those who have not formally joined us yet. No need to sign up in advance. Just stop by for a cuppa and a chat!

CREATIVE NUDE FIGURE DRAWING WITH LEAH, Wednesday 8 April. In a safe, welcoming, and intimate setting, we’ll delve into the art of figure drawing together. Open to IWCV members and their female out-of-town guests only. For complete details and to sign up, click here: Creative Nude Figure Drawing with Leah! | IWC - Valencia

KIMCHI MAKING WORKSHOP IN LA CANYADA, Saturday 11 April. In this hands-on Napa cabbage Kimchi Workshop, you’ll learn how to make an authentic kimchi from scratch. For complete details and to sign up, click here: Kimchi Making Workshop in La Canyada | IWC - Valencia

BIDANZA -MAGIC DANCE – A MOVEMENT AND CONNECTION EXPERIENCE, Tuesday 14 April. Open to IWCV Members, their partners/spouses, Fellows of the IWCV, and out-of-town guests. This is not a traditional dance class—there are no steps to learn. Instead, you’ll be guided through a series of movements designed to help you relax, connect, and enjoy the experience of moving to music. For complete details and to register, click here: BIODANZA | IWC - Valencia

REGULATORY CHANGES – TAKE TWO, Wednesday 15 April at Espai Llimera. Open to IWCV members, their partners/spouses, and Fellows of the IWCV. Come learn about changes to the rules regarding the NLV and other visas, and get the scoop on how to qualify for free public health insurance with immigration gurus Graham Tyner and Rissana Shytu from Settle-Easy. For complete details and to register, click here: Regulatory Changes –Take Two | IWC - Valencia (Fellows: to sign up, email president@iwc-valencia.com).

FELLOWS OF THE IWCV HAPPY HOUR, Wednesday 15 April, 6:00pm at St Anthony’s Irish Pub, Passeig de l’Albereda 11. Open to everyone! Come see your old friends and make some new ones. No need to sign up in advance!

IWCV APRIL LUNCHEON FOR MEMBERS ONLY, Thursday 16 April at La Mezcla Perfecta Restaurant. Come enjoy Chef Francesco’s specialties from this home town, Modena – and the rest of Italy! For complete details and to register, click here: IWCV April Luncheon - Members Only | IWC - Valencia

DRINK & DRAW – A DIFFERENT KIND OF HAPPY HOUR! 5:30 pm, Friday 17 April at Bar Esmas. Open to IWCV members, their partners/spouses, and Fellows of the IWCV. Come join our resident creative guru, Leah, for a relaxed and inspiring evening at a new Drink & Draw event of this year's series. For complete details and to sign up, click here: Drink & Draw - A Different Kind of Happy Hour! | IWC - Valencia

CRAVINGS, SUPERFOODS & THE TRUTH ABOUT FOOD – On two dates, 21 & 25 April. Open to IWCV members, their partners/spouses, and Fellows of the IWCV. Who’s Really in Charge – You or the Chocolate? What’s Real – and what’s just hype? For details and to register, click on your preferred date:

Tuesday 21 April at 4:00pm - Cravings, Superfoods & the Truth About Food - Also offered on April 25 | IWC - Valencia

Saturday 25 April at 11:00am - Cravings, Superfoods & the Truth About Food - also offered on April 21. | IWC - Valencia

BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARDS, Friday 24 April, meet at Bastard Coffee & Kitchen. Open to IWCV members, their partners/spouses, and Fellows of the IWCV. Walk Valencia’s most beautiful avenues and uncover the stories behind them. NYC has Fifth Avenue. Paris has the Champs-Élysées. Valencia has Gran Vía Marqués del Turia and Avenida del Regne de Valencia. For complete details and to register click here: BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARDS | IWC - Valencia

WHAT TO BUY, WHAT TO SKIP, AND WHERE TO START: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SETTING UP YOUR HOME IN VALENCIA, Thursday 30 April at Spaces Cabo Offices. Open to IWCV members, their partners/spouses, and Fellows of the IWCV. Join Anna Sigova, founder of Housely, for a practical and refreshingly realistic look at how to turn an empty apartment into a comfortable, ready-to-live space—without unnecessary stress, delays, or overspending. For complete details and to sign up, click here: What to Buy, What to Skip, and Where to Start | IWC - Valencia

MEMBERSHIP

Janine Forbes, VP Membership

New Members in March 2026

Membership numbers for February take into account those members who have moved away from Valencia or have decided not to renew their membership for many reasons. Fully paid up members numbers stand at 413 with some 40 new members joining in February.

Members joined us from - Spain, Austria, Colombia, Iceland, Zimbabwe, Russia, Italy, France, Lithuania, Slovenia, UK and the US . We are so glad you found us and extend a huge welcome to all our new members !

Andrea Loaiza Alzate

Ani Castle

Antonia Fildanova

Caitlyn Leal

Cindy Dancer Sadowski

Courtney Seablom

Davida Skigen

Diamantine Micallef

Gillian Downey

Heather Glenn

Julia Faal

Katherine Hermes

Lauren Balestreri

Lisa Nicolaou

Marga Hurst

Maricely Veryser

Mimi Backhausen

Sharon Cress

Sharon Greenspan

Susie Doogood

Tina Gutheridge

Viktoiya Kozlova

A huge Happy Birthday to all our members celebrating their birthdays in April!

Amanda Johnson

Amanda Kelly

Beverley Allebach

Camila Velez

Cerise Hilgado

Cindy Dancer Sadowski

Claire Donnai

Cynthia Farrer

Danielle Neeson

Elaine Aguirre

Elizabeth Zipse

Emma Shultz

Emma Zell

Grainne O Reilly

Heather Glenn

Jessica Ballinger

Jimena Echeverri

Julia Faal

Krista Brown

Margeret Pond

Marina Kira

Marti Lay

Monique Cordell

Nuria Sanmartin

Paulin Fitzgerald

Petra Handlin

Ramzia Duszynski

Reilly Gallagher

Sara Ardetti

Shannon Hernandez

Sruthi Mohan

Susie Doogood

Teresa Vilaseca

New members found us through other members referrals, web searches and increasingly Facebook recommendations.

Input from Membership VP - Janine Forbes

Welcome to ALL our new members.

Please come along and meet us at the regular “First Tuesday” coffee on 7th April at the beautiful Pizca de Sal opposite Torres Quart at 10:30. Hopefully we will be outside and in the sun this month but just in case, bring a jacket, it’s still chilly in the shade!. If you are new to the club and don’t know anyone. please come and find me, I will be wearing a bright Orange lanyard!

Our New members meetup in March was a wonderful opportunity to meet our newest members and hear the fascinating stories of their journey to get to our beautiful Valencia. We hope to have another New Members meeting in May, so watch out on the website as they fill up quickly!

Thanks so much to all the generous members who attended coffee and donated products to Casa Caridad who were very grateful and big thanks to Emma Zell for co-ordinating. We really appreciate how much you step up when we have these donation drives at our coffee morning.

Our Buy/Sell/Donate chat is going really well with lots of activity and members selling to members. Thanks to Rita Rabelo who kindly admins the group. If you want to join, click on the pinned post on Social chat, or contact Rita to be added.

If you are very new to your area or the city please speak to Veronica Lopez who is our Ambassador Co-ordinator. Her e mail is iwcvwelcome@gmail.com New members really appreciate the support of an IWC Ambassador when they are relatively new to the city and we always appreciate the help of “ longer term” members.

Remember, all the really useful information about What’s On within the Club and the many, many events is on the IWC website. If you would like to join one of the many Whatsapp groups, just contact the relevant lead member or any Board Member including myself, janine_forbes@hotmail.com. Of course, If you know any women in your personal network who you think would enjoy being a member of our club, please pass on the www.iwc-valencia.com and bring them along to an event. This is how the majority of women find us and referral is the best recommendation of all.

CHARITIES & FUNDRAISING

Pauline Fitzgerald, VP – Charities

Spring has finally arrived and the sun is shining but for charities the endless work continues and as always we support Proyecto Vivir, Casa Caridad and Casa Ronald as best we can.

For those of you members who wish to make a private donation please note theBank details of our three charities:

Proyecto Vivir

ES75 3159 0066 9828 5328 2123

Casa Caridad

La Caixa:ES47 2100 0736 0022 0061 2310

Banco Sabadell:ES75 0081 7352 4300 0105 7311

Casa Ronald:

ES27 0081 1518 9300 0150 8057

CASA CARIDAD

We had a very successful donation drive at March Coffee Morning. Thank you ladies for your kindness and generosity.We will repeat this donation drive at May Coffee Morning on May 5th.  The donations will again be collected by a Casa Caridad driver. Please watch your emails for details from Emma Zell of what the charity requires.

CASA RONALD

For those of you who missed the opportunity to attend the tour of Casa Ronald in March please note we will aim to offer another tour after the Easter Holiday. It was disappointing that so few members joined the March tour, it is a rare opportunity to visit Casa Ronald and see firsthand the wonderful work carried out there to support Families whose children are receiving specialist care in La Fe Hospital. Casa Ronald creates an environment where the child can lead a normal life surrounded  by their loved ones while undergoing treatment.

Details of the next tour will be posted as soon as we have confirmation of a date from the house.

PROYECTO VIVIR

In the coming months we plan to have a tour of Proyecto Vivir for those of you who are interested.

PROYECTO VIVIR STORE will welcome all secondhand clothing items and small household items, I'm sure many of us will be cleaning out our wardrobes soon as we approach warm spring days. You can drop off your donations to the store. Address and opening times as follows:

Proyecto Vivir Tienda

Carrer de González Martí, 3, Extramurs,

46008, Valencia

Opening hours Tuesday to Thursday

09:30 - 14:0017:00 - 19:30

Shop closed Friday to Monday

As I have mentioned many times, we are always open to ideas to raise funds for our charities, if anyone would like to organise/host an event please contact me onpauline.fitzgerald9@gmail.com

ACTIVITIES

Susan Burke March, VP—Activities

IWCV April 2026 Activities & Events

Stay Connected!

All Ongoing Activities: https://www.iwc-valencia.com/ongoingactivities

Our Join Us for Local Events WhatsApp Chat currently has 285 members! To become part of the chat, contact Activities VP Susan Burke March via WhatsApp at +34 651 858 463 or email Activities@IWC-Valencia.com.

Activity Groups & WhatsApp Coordination

IWCV Activity Coordinators – Each activity has a dedicated WhatsApp Chat Group administered by our volunteer coordinators.

New This Month: Let’s Dance!

This month we’re excited to announce a new activity: Let’s Dance! Whether you love to dance or have always wanted to learn, join fellow IWCV members to explore different dance styles together. From Salsa and Swing to Line Dancing and more, this activity is all about having fun, learning something new, and enjoying music and movement with friends.

Our Latin Dance group meets weekly on Monday afternoons, and we are working with teachers to organize additional dance style classes based on members’ interests. If you’d like to participate, contact coordinator Didi Cann +34 641 59 47 37 and join the WhatsApp group chat.

Book Clubs & Discussion Groups

Chicas de Libros Book Club: Enjoy relaxed English-language book discussions. As the group has grown, meetings are now split into two: both meet at 18:00 on the second week of the month – always the second Tuesday, and either Monday or Wednesday night of the same week, depending on each host’s preference. All members read the same book monthly, with book selections and meeting choices made via WhatsApp polls – learn more by joining the chat! Contact: Ruth Ann Hepler · ruthannhepler@gmail.com · +34 613 395 458

Monthly Gameplay & Member-Hosted Board Games: Enjoy fun, relaxed game sessions, with more home games planned this spring. Contact: Ann Linton · annlinton@me.com · +1 312 208 8666

Spanish Book Club: Two reading tracks (Children’s/YA and Adult fiction) with monthly discussions of works by Spanish, Chilean, and Mexican-American authors. We’re looking for a new coordinator starting after April 8. The role is to guide the weekly meetings, with a bit of light admin (WhatsApp, website updates, group contact).Volunteers keep our Activities healthy! If you're interested in coordinating this group, please get in touch with coordinator Amy Swanson (+34 692 71 51 30) before April 8th.

Spanish Conversation Groups

Spanish Conversation Groups (not formal classes) meet from 11:00–12:15 at El Corte Inglés (Calle Colón), Building 2, 6th-floor cafeteria.

• Spanish Conversation Practice (Beginner–Low Intermediate): We practice speaking Spanish aloud at a beginner-friendly or beginning intermediate level, offering real-life language practice. Coordinator: Margie Spillen · +1 540 588 8911 · margepill@yahoo.com

• Spanish & Coffee: Next Level Conversations: Open conversation for non-beginners, ideal for individuals who can maintain a basic conversation and wish to improve their fluency. Coordinator: Lisa Guinn · +34 673 29 4151

  
  

Walking & Social Groups

Solo Women of IWCV: A welcoming group for women living independently in Valencia. Solo Women offers regular meetups, special outings, and celebrations. New for April: The First Friday meetups now start at 7:00 PM and the Third Friday (rooftops & outings) remains at 5:30 PM. New member-led activities are forming, including social dining and small group gatherings. Members will also be checking in with less active members to help everyone stay connected. To join the WhatsApp group: Contact: Silvia Matos Escalda · +34 666 68 35 74

Women Who Walk (WWW): Open to all members and their guests, this lively group meets Fridays at 11:00 am by the fountains in Turia Park (across from Palau de la Música), followed by coffee. Walks are announced Thursdays in the WhatsApp chat. To join WWW Contact: Alla Volpyansky - +1 847 942 2222 or Yara Anabtawi +966 54 728 4295

Visit the IWCV Activities page for full details and to contact coordinators to join WhatsApp groups: https://www.iwc-valencia.com/ongoingactivities

Interested in volunteering? Coordinators play a key role in keeping IWCV active and thriving. Let’s brainstorm new activities and special events!

Contact: Susan Burke March · Activities@IWC-Valencia.com +34 651 858 463

FELLOWS OF THE IWCV

Carey Hepler, Coordinator

The Fellows of the IWCV is open to all men of Valencia. For questions or to join, please contact me (Carey Hepler) at carey.hepler@gmail.com.

Join the Fellows’ friendly weekly Spanish Conversation Meetup for expats in Valencia, designed for beginner to low-intermediate Spanish speakers. We are looking to form a friendly and supportive group where we can practice one of the most difficult parts of learning Spanish: speaking it!"When: Mondays at 4pmWhere: Colon El Corte Inglés cafeteria (6th floor), Carrer de Colón, 27 (the Samsung store is on the ground floor).>>This is a link to join the Fellows’ Spanish Leaners WhatsApp group:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/FtYhG2uf003IbhOKCWzrkQ>>And here is a link to join the Fellows’ Tuesday Night Movies WhatsApp group:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/CGqP2oDVE4aFFRJ4E1vBCQ

APRIL HOLIDAYS IN VALENCIA

Thursday 2 April: “Holy” Thursday (Maundy Thursday)

Friday 3 April Good Friday

Monday 6 April Easter Monday

Friday 17 April Saint Vincent Ferrer Day

We hope to see all of you around town and at our IWCV events this month – stay warm and have fun!

Jane Buck,

President