Food-lovers are in for a treat as two of the Algarve’s biggest gastronomic events will begin next week – Portimão’s Sardine Festival and Olhão’s Seafood Festival.
First up is the sardine festival, which sees restaurants in Portimão serving the traditional char-grilled sardines accompanied by a salad and boiled potatoes.
This year, seven restaurants are taking part: À Ravessa, Casa Bica, Forte e Feio, O Meco, Retiro do Peixe Assado, Ú Venâncio and Zizá.
While the festivities will take place between Wednesday, August 7 and Sunday, August 11, several local theatre groups will team up a day before to reenact the unloading of a fishing boat filled with sardines.
Television channel RTP1 will be there filming the performance, which will be followed by a huge ‘sardinhada’ (sardine party).
As the Resident has already reported, one of the big changes this year will be the change of setting as most of the festivities will be taking place near the Clube Naval de Portimão, such as the concerts, as opposed to prior years when they were held near the old ‘lota’ fishing market. The stalls selling ‘sardinha no pão’ (sardine on bread) will also be located near the CNP.
This year’s musical line-up features Amor Electro (August 7), Bárbara Bandeira (August 8), Marco Rodrigues (August 9), C4 Pedro (August 10) and Expensive Soul (August 11).
To make sure its younger visitors are entertained, there will also be bouncy castles and floats.
Meantime, preparations are underway in Olhão for the town’s massively successful ‘Festival do Marisco’, which will take place between August 9 and 14.
The event is a six-day ‘seafood extravaganza’ and gives visitors an opportunity to treat their palate to the best seafood that the Ria Formosa has to offer.
The festival also brings top music acts to the Algarve.
Ticket prices vary depending on the day, with a six-day pass available for €42. They can be purchased online at ticketline.pt or at the usual outlets such as Worten and Fnac.
