We will be in Barcelona during the La Merce Festival. We will arrive on September 20 and depart on September 25. Our hotel is location is close to Placa Cataluna. Any suggestions for the food and festival activities will be appreciated.
Here ya go, from the official city website (in English): https://www.barcelona.cat/lamerce/en
You can search by location and activity type, some specific events I would recommend:
Passejada de dracs i bèsties de foc - El Born
Falcons de Barcelona i Falcons de Vilanova - Plaça de Sant Jaume
Cavalcada de la Mercè - Ciutat Vella
Ballada de sardanes - Plaça de la Mercè
Concert extraordinari de les festes de la Mercè - Palau de la Generalitat
PS - La Mercè will be a field day for pickpockets, so be extra weary, but still have fun!
To add to what Carlos said, your hotel will probably have printed programs (ours did) you can take with you. When watching the Castellers, the Plaza was literally packed with people, shoulder to shoulder to the point it was hard to move, or exit the plaza. The festival and events were fantastic. To re emphasize, watch your belongings closely.
Edit to add: I could not find the specific event for the Castellers, the Human Towers so emblematic of Catalonia. But this is an event you should definitely look out for, they are usually at the Plaça Sant Jaume, but you can ask your hotel for more details.