AFAB Marks 30 Years with Free Alzheimer Awareness Festival Support group AFAB prepares a vibrant public festival in Plaza de la Mezquita this Saturday, marking three decades of vital care for local families. Three Decades of Community Dedication For thirty years, a small team of volunteers and professionals in Benalmádena and Torremolinos has quietly done some of the hardest work in local social care: sitting with families the day after an Alzheimer's diagnosis, teaching a spouse how to manage a partner's confusion, or simply giving an exhausted carer a few hours to themselves. This weekend, that work gets its moment in the spotlight. The Benalmádena and Torremolinos Alzheimer's Association (AFAB) marks its 30th anniversary with a public festival, timed to coincide with international awareness campaigns for dementia and related conditions that began earlier this week. AFAB was founded at a time when Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia were rarely discussed openly, let alone supported by dedicated local infrastructure. Three decades on, the association runs day centres, therapy sessions, carer training and psychological support groups that serve both Spanish families and the substantial English-speaking and northern European community that has settled along this stretch of coast. For many expat retirees without extended family nearby, AFAB has become one of the few places offering guidance in a language they understand, at a moment when they need it most. In the run-up to the anniversary, association staff and volunteers have set up informative stalls in public squares and shopping areas across both towns, talking directly to residents about early warning signs, diagnosis pathways through the Spanish health system, and the respite services available to those already caring for a loved one. Local council representatives have publicly praised the group's unbroken record of service, noting that grassroots organisations like AFAB fill gaps that larger institutions often cannot reach — particularly for families juggling two languages and two very different healthcare bureaucracies. Open-Air Festival and Awareness Talks The centrepiece celebration takes place tomorrow, Saturday 26 September, from 17:00 in Plaza de la Mezquita, one of Torremolinos's more accessible central squares and a natural gathering point for an event aimed at bringing generations together. Entry is free and organisers have built the programme around inclusivity rather than formality: live music, traditional dance performances, and family-friendly entertainment designed to draw in everyone from young children to elderly residents who may themselves be living with early-stage symptoms. The choice of venue and format matters. Dementia charities across Spain have increasingly moved away from clinical, closed-door awareness events towards open community festivals precisely because stigma remains one of the biggest barriers to early diagnosis. Getting people talking about memory loss in a relaxed, public setting — rather than only in a doctor's waiting room — is now seen as part of the treatment pathway itself, not just PR. The anniversary calendar closes on Thursday 1 October with a more reflective session titled *Learning to Live with Alzheimer's*, held at the CPA Anica Torres centre from 10:00. Structured around personal testimony rather than clinical lecture, the talk is pitched at carers — family members, often spouses or adult children, who take on daily responsibility for someone with dementia, frequently without formal training or adequate support. The session forms part of the municipality's broader seniors week, a calendar of activities aimed at the area's growing population of older residents. What It Means for Residents and Carers For Costa del Sol families, particularly the large expat contingent scattered across Benalmádena and Torremolinos, the anniversary events offer a practical entry point into services that can otherwise feel difficult to locate. Early diagnosis remains one of the strongest predictors of better long-term outcomes for dementia patients, yet language barriers and unfamiliarity with the Spanish healthcare system often delay foreign residents from seeking help. AFAB's stalls, the Saturday festival and the closing testimony session all serve, in effect, as low-pressure ways to make that first contact. With an ageing population along this coastline and increasing numbers of retirees choosing to spend their final years in Spain rather than returning home, organisations like AFAB are likely to become more central to local life, not less. Anyone unable to attend this week's events can still reach out directly to the association for information on ongoing support groups, day-care placements and carer training sessions running throughout the year.