The seasonal event include street entertainment, thematic fairs, Jazz in Tavira, Fado in the bandstand, concerts in the Parque do Palácio and much more.

The town of Tavira is preparing for yet another entertainment-packed season. In July, August and early September, “Summer in Tavira” offers locals and visitors a rich and diverse cultural programme, which includes an international theatre and arts festival, thematic fairs, jazz performances, Fado in the bandstand, concerts at Parque do Palácio, an open-air film festival, digital art and craft demonstrations.

The programme kicks off tomorrow, July 5, with “Cenas na Rua” – International Theatre and Arts Festival in the Streets of Tavira. This event will run until July 16 in various locations around the city.

This year, the programme includes artistic performances and award-winning shows in contemporary dance, theatre, new circus, poetry, humour, cinema and music. From Canada, “Mr Bananarama”; from Spain, “Maduixa”, “La Baldufa”, “La Gata Japonesa” and “D’Es Tro”; from the United Kingdom “, Gandini Juggling”. And from Portugal, “Armação do Artista”, “Teatro Regional da Serra de Montemuro”, “Quorum Ballet”, the “Ruge” project with Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho, Daniela Onis and Ruben Alves, and “Ao Luar Teatro”.

Thematic fairs return to the Rua do Cais (city centre). Between July 14 and 16, Associação Cegos por Provas (Blind for Tastings), with the support of the Municipality of Tavira, host another edition of “Tavira: Wine Days“. This wine and gastronomic fair, which features 40 exhibitors, highlights the different varieties of national and Tavira wines through tastings and other initiatives.

Between July 20 and August 6, the 27th edition of the Tavira Book Fair takes place. Counting some 35 exhibitors, the programme includes several book launches, presentations of new editions, and conversations with writers/authors.

Between August 8 and 16, the ASTA – Associação de Artes e Sabores de Tavira (Tavira Arts and Flavours Association) organises a Crafts Fair. This initiative, which brings together exhibitors from the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, also aims to promote handicrafts, sweets and their techniques.

Between August 18 and 27, it’s time for another edition of the Tavira Antiques Fair. An excellent opportunity for collectors and decoration lovers to acquire rarities and unique pieces.

Downtown Tavira’s Integrated Development Association (UAC) promotes yet another edition of the Stocks Fair in collaboration with various associated commercial spaces between August 30 and September 3.

Local associations ASTA, Almadra and Albacora will organise handicraft exhibitions between July 1 and October 2. These will take place on the Praça Dr António Padinha (Jardim da Alagoa) from Monday to Wednesday, and in the Jardim das Palmeiras, from Friday to Sunday.

From July 20 to the 23, the Praça da República hosts another cycle of Jazz in Tavira. On July 20, L.U.M.E (Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble), an ensemble of 15 jazz and classical musicians, performs, followed by Maria Mendes on July 21, who will present her recent work, “Saudade, Colour of Love”. On July 22, “South”, a project by Bernardo Couto (Portuguese guitar), Bernardo Moreira (double bass) and Luís Figueiredo (piano), takes the stage. And on July 23, Mário Barreiros and the Pacific Quartet present “Two Quartets about the Sea”.

Once a week, local Fado singers will perform at the bandstand in the Jardim do Coreto, while the Parque do Palácio da Galeria will host Carminho on August 9. The famous Fado singer presents “Portuguesa”, her sixth album, featuring 14 compositions, some of which she wrote.

On August 23, Sétima Legião finally return to the stage, 40 years after the beginning of their journey. This show is also a tribute to Ricardo Camacho, producer and keyboard player of the band, who died in 2018.

Tickets for the shows will be on sale at the Tavira Summer information stand, located on the Praça da República, open daily between 20:00 and 23:00. Tickets will also be available at the ticket office of the respective shows on the day of the event, and from Tuesday to Saturday at the Palácio da Galeria, during public opening hours.

The Praça da República is another venue that will host a vast programme of performances, emphasising local and regional projects and references to current Portuguese music, dance and folklore.

The programme includes projects from Tavira: Poetas Cantados, Luís Conceição & OSMOSE, G.I.G.G.Y., Banda Musical de Tavira, Academia de Música de Tavira (dance), D Dance Company, Sociedade Recreativa Musical Luzense (ballroom dancing), Ranchos de Tavira, Luz de Tavira e Santo Estêvão, Popular music group Pérolas do Gilão and Grupo de Cantares de Cachopo.

Also noteworthy is the celebration of Santiago Day in the Parish of Tavira, with a fado show with Rui Vaz and performances by the Orquestra do Algarve and the Orquestra de Jazz do Algarve.

This stage will also feature Pedro Flores with Fado, Buba Espinho (a young singer from Beja), Mário Lúcio (composer, writer, poet and unavoidable figure of Cape Verdean culture), who will perform with the Kriols band, the usual Gala Lírica (this year on a Trip to the Opera) and the young Algarve-born Sara Badalo. Also noteworthy are Tomas Basso and Amos Lora, Monda (celebration of the Alentejo song) and Luís Guilherme, who sings Marco Paulo.

Organised by the Inatel Foundation, the Popular Inatel – Itinerant Festival will also take place between July 27 and 30 on the Praça da República. On July 27, Siricaia performs, followed by Uxu Kalhus on the 28th, Lavoisier on the 29th and, finally, on the 30th, the well-known fado singer Marco Rodrigues.

Between July 13 and August 13, the Cineclube de Tavira presents another edition of the Tavira Open Air Film Festival. And at the Municipal Museum of Tavira | Palácio da Galeria, the “Mediterranean Diet – Millennial Cultural Heritage” and “Colours” photographic exhibitions by Fernando Ricardo are on display, in parallel with the permanent “Islâmica Tavira” and “Kärsti Stiege i Marocko (Kärsti Stiege in Morocco) exhibitions in the museum’s Islamic Nucleus.

Museu Zer0 presents two important Digital Art exhibitions at the Ermida de São Roque in July, August and September. Between July 15 and August 13, there will be “Sheep on the loose – maestras do carillon”, an interactive audio-visual piece with a transmedia language composed of a vertical chime of bells/rattles played by the digital shadows of the audience.

And between August 16 and September 15, six installations by six young artists from the Algarve will be presented. An exhibition inspired by the landscape and territories of the Algarve, produced using images and sounds.