The competition between the band clubs can be quite fierce when it comes to the organisation of decorations and the fireworks shows, even if there is only one "festa" in the village.

The brass band marches take place throughout the evenings on the days prior to the "festa", accompanied by spectacular fireworks, together with the nougat and ice cream stalls distributed around the village.

On the day of the feast of St. Bartholomew, there is a procession around Għargħur with the titular statue of the saint followed by brass bands and a crowd of devout ones.

[2] In modern times a controversy has risen over the real name of this village - whether it should be called Gargur or Ħal Għargħur.

A Muslim-style oven is still found in a house in Sqaq Warda, and a home with Arab-style decorations on the façade exists in the same area.

There is documented reference of Ħal Għargħur as far back as 1419, in the lists of the Dejma, which was a Militia that guarded the locals from pirate attacks.

The settlement suffered from severe de-population during the High Middle Ages and some years later due to continuous pirate attacks.

The statue of the saint is carried shoulder high along the illuminated streets of the village accompanied by musical bands.

Many tourists tend to take part in the celebration of the saint's day, by visiting the church and the well-known fireworks display.

An abbey was established in Ħal Għargħur in the Middle Ages, in an area now called Tar-Rħieb (Friars' (old Maltese) place).

There is no evidence as to when and why this abbey was abandoned, but the reason could have been the constant pirate attacks on the village, which led to a severe depopulation of both Għargħur and nearby settlements.

Indeed, on one occasion the residents of Għargħur found refuge in the parish church and vowed that if they were unharmed, there would be an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of [Mellieħa].

Dun Mattew Schiriha from Senglea, responsible for the chapel of Saint Bartholomew (which existed on the site of the present parish church), started signing documents as "Cappellano della parrochia di Casal Gregorio".

Borg in 1610, Bishop Gargallo felt that he could finally confirm Ħal Għargħur's status as a separate parish.

The residents of Ħal Għargħur, most of whom were farmers, promised that they would give part of their produce (cotton, wheat and barley) for the preservation of the parish.

[4] Ħal Għargħur was a rural community located in an area particularly lacking fertile soil and fresh water.

Nevertheless, the inhabitants of this area were able to finance the building of a parish church and several other chapels which host Baroque fine arts.

Its treasures include a wooden statue of Saint Bartholomew sculptured in Rome attributed to Maltese artist Melchiorre Gafà.

Before World War II and prior to the installation of radar, a concave wall was constructed in Ħal Għargħur with the aim of detecting incoming aircraft.

Ħal Għargħur hosted a number a refugees from the harbour area during that war who were seeking shelter from the continuous air raids by the Axis Powers.

One of them is the pronunciation of the letter "Q" in certain words, namely "daħq", "ċagħaq", "qagħaq" and "sriedaq", as a voiceless uvular plosive (similar to a "k").

A spring found in this cave was said to be miraculous; however, the faithful stopped drinking from it after lepers started bathing in it in order to heal.