The Mediterranean Diet Fair returns to Tavira between the 5th and 7th of September, this time with doubled strength. Less than a year after the recognition of the Portuguese Mediterranean Diet as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, by UNESCO, Tavira, the representative community of Portugal in the winning bid, once again promotes a Fair that celebrates this cultural heritage and gathers around it more and more entities, almost double those that were represented a year ago, which will allow for a leap forward significant in the size and quality of the event.
The fair's program will crown a week of activities, the Mediterranean Diet Week, which runs from 1st to 7th September. Gastronomy, agricultural production, culture, entertainment, colloquiums and institutional dissemination fit into the extensive menu of proposed activities.
The event was presented this Wednesday, in a session that brought together the many entities that collaborate in the organization of the Fair: Câmara de Tavira, Algarve Tourism Region, CCDR do Algarve, Regional Directorate of Agriculture, In Loco Association and the Hotel School and VRSA Tourism. The (unusual) level of collaboration that has been achieved, driven by the Tavirense candidacy to UNESCO, was, moreover, one of the most focused points by those responsible who intervened in the meeting with the press.
In this second year of the Fair, which takes place in the «year zero» of the Portuguese Mediterranean Diet as a World Heritage Site, the number of entities involved goes from 70 in 2013 to around 120. Among them will be representations from other countries that are part of the transnational candidacy. Portugal joined on 4 December 2013, namely Greece and Morocco.
Jorge Botelho: “Our brochure is concentrated and has small print, but this is a symptom of the desire of many to do things and join us”
As expected, the large increase in exhibitors made the program grow, in such a way that «it is possible to spend the three days at the fair always participating in activities», illustrated the mayor of Tavira Jorge Botelho, on the sidelines of the session.
A good example are the Hotel and Tourism Schools in the region, which will share a space and provide “22 hours of activities”, including cooking classes, gastronomic demonstrations and others. «Following the program, we will verify that we have a full day. If we start in the morning, we can continue all day. We have the cooking show, then we move on to the colloquium, then we move on to the music and the corner where something is happening. It is an invitation to spend three days living Tavira, living quality of life and this climate of experiences that is installed here and that we are building”, exemplified Botelho.
Describing the complete program is, moreover, a difficult task, given its length. “The program is very rich and difficult to synthesize. We had a greater growth than we expected», revealed the head of the Culture, Heritage and Museums Division of the Tavirense municipality, Jorge Queiroz. “Our brochure is concentrated and has small print, but this is a symptom of the desire of many to do things and join us”, added Jorge Botelho, laughing.
On the part of the organization, the highlight goes to some of the news and improvements that were made, compared to last year and to some of the names that will make up the musical poster.
First, the passage "to the other side of the river", given the increase in exhibitors. Another innovation is the association of the city's restaurants to the event, which will propose themed menus for over a week, more precisely from August 30th to September 7th.
“We will also have a very rich animation program. In music, Vá-de-Viró, Celina da Piedade, Luísa Amaro, who was Carlos Paredes' partner, will be here, and will present the Argus project, which brings together a Cypriot singer and an Italian musician, Júlio Pereira and Rão Kyao with Eduardo Ramos . We will also have Alentejo sing, as well as dance and theater», revealed Jorge Queiroz.
Other highlights of the program are the spaces to promote physical activity and the area dedicated to children, an innovation compared to the first year of the Fair. “Health will be represented in strength this year. Dietitians, nutritionists, the Portuguese Federation of Cardiology and all faculties of the University of Algarve will be present”, added Jorge Queiroz, who stressed that UAlg will have “three stands”, two more than in 2013.
Discover the program here e here too.
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