Associations in the municipality of Silves are helping to promote “time travel” at the Medieval Fair. The clothes that can be rented, the xilbs that replace euros at the fair, or the drinks that visitors can consume, are the result of the work of various people, various associations, from various areas.
If the visitor wants to assume the character of an odalisque or a warrior, volunteers from the Casa do Povo of São Bartolomeu de Messines will provide the clothes and ensure that, the next day, they will be available for someone else. “time traveler” can use them.
The distribution and exchange of euros for xilbs, in other words the Câmbio Real, is ensured by Silves Futebol Clube, while the Exclusive Drink Distribution Center is in charge of the Extremo Sul association.
The functioning of the Medieval Fair is thus ensured, in large part, by the “silver of the house”, something that pleases the local authorities and associations. The communities find a source of funding for their activities and the event takes on more genuine contours, avoiding the hiring of external services, which usually collaborate in fairs of this kind all over the country.
According to Tiago Leal, from Silves Futebol Clube, around 50 people are involved in the Câmbio Real and in a Tavern, «among athletes, parents, sectionists, or people who like the club».
In addition to the fact that participation in the fair constitutes a financial “added value” for the club's activities, Silves FC has in mind the objective of “improving the visitors' experience”.
For its part, the Extremo Sul association is in charge of the beverage center, with an innovative system: orders by exhibitors can be placed through a website.
“There is a competition that associations can compete in to participate in the fair and we were asked to present an innovative idea. We presented the idea of creating a website where exhibitors could place their beverage orders online. It is in operation and the adhesion is around 50% of the exhibitors present», he explained, to the Sul Informação, Joao Goncalves.
For the head of Extremo Sul, participation in the fair «promotes the dynamics and publicizes the association's work, we show the council our intentions, it's good in all aspects, and in terms of money it's also important».
The issue of monetary benefits is also highlighted by José Carlos Araújo, president of the Casa do Povo of São Bartolomeu de Messines, who manages the Roupeiro Real and has a restaurant space at the Medieval Fair: «the main objective is to raise funds, to face our treasury difficulties. We have a large structure of human resources, great power in the local economy. I almost venture to say that we are one of the biggest employers in the parish of Messines. Since expenses do not decrease, we are going to participate in these actions and events, in order to have revenue benefits».
Roupeiro Real is available to «any visitor to the fair who arrives and wants to rent clothes. You can be king one day, noble the next, whatever. We have four people in each of the closets [there are two] and the clothes are sanitized every day. They are people who work during the day at the institution and at night at the fair”, explains the official, who guarantees that there are suits for “everyone, fat, thin, big and small”. In total, 2500 suits are available every night for rent.
Rosa Palma, mayor of Silves, explains that, in organizing the fair, “we have been careful to allow communities to collaborate more with us and derive some kind of dividends from there, and this is the way we have found it. In addition to the institutions getting involved in a project of the Chamber, they can also get involved themselves. We have the wardrobes, the supply of drinks and the management of xilb given to associations, in addition to the taverns they operate».
The mayor explains that «in our program contracts we have a clause that provides for our collaboration in their initiatives, on an annual basis, and we also include the collaboration of communities in what may be events of the Chamber, namely, the Medieval Fair. This collaboration can range from animation initiatives at the fair, or in collaborative situations like the one we are referring to now. It works as an exchange currency between the municipality and the community», he concludes.
The Medieval Fair of Silves it started last friday and lasts until sunday, the 16th of august.
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