Six towns – Albufeira, Faro, Olhão, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel and Tavira – will be hosting this year’s edition of ‘FOMe’, the Algarve’s puppetry festival, between Friday, September 13 and Saturday, 28.
“This year, we have more shows,” says the festival’s artistic director Jeannine Trévidic.
“Last year we hosted 38 shows and welcomed 10 theatre companies, while this year we will be hosting 50 shows and welcoming 18 companies,” she told Lusa news agency.
Gastronomy also plays an important role in the festival. This year there will be “five gastronomic experiences” to enjoy, with artists and chefs teaming up to create unique experiences.
One of these events is an exhibition at Faro museum which sees artist Jorge Cerqueira from Sintra creating a puppet display about the “theme and universe of gastronomy”.
But what promises to be one of the highlights of the event will be the opening show, which will take place at the Largo do Carmo square in Faro on Friday and will see a German puppetry company parading four and five-metre high puppets along the town’s streets.
It is described as a “poetic light and music show” which encourages audience interaction.
Another highlight will be a show entitled ‘Janet’, taking place in Albufeira (September 14), Olhão (20) and São Brás (27), which uses only kitchen utensils and whose main character is a “piece of raw bread”.
Also planned are two puppetry workshops, as organisers want the art to grow in the Algarve.
The full programme can be found online (click here).
