The Discoveries Festival, which this year will mark the 600th anniversary of the discovery of the island of Madeira, will return to Lagos between the 1st and 5th of May. The event «takes back a journey into the past, reliving chronologies, people and ambiences from the period of the Discoveries».
According to the Câmara de Lagos, the festival "promises days with lots of entertainment, historical recreations, exhibitions, commented visits and the Quinhentista Fair (from 3 to 5), which will take place at Praça do Infante, Jardim da Constitution and streets of the Historic Center" .
The municipality emphasizes that the «X edition of this event has as its theme “The 600 years of the Discovery of Madeira Island”, an archipelago consisting of the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, the latter discovered in 1419 by the navigators João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, with many seafarers from the Algarve and in particular from Lagos being part of his crew».
The program kicks off, on May 1st, with two Commented Visits – the first in the morning, on the theme “The Caravels of Lagos and the Cais das Descobertas” and one, in the afternoon, on “The House of Guinea and the Customs of Lagos”.
For the 2nd, a Conference on the 600 years of the Discovery of the Island of Madeira is scheduled, to take place from 15 pm, in the Antigos Paços do Concelho, and whose guest speakers will be José Manuel Pereira and João Abel da Fonseca.
On that same day and place, at 18 pm, an exhibition on the theme of the Festival is inaugurated.
Between the 3rd and 5th of May, the XNUMXth-century Fair will take place, with each day having a theme: “A Departure”, “O Deslumbramento” and “O Ouro Branco”, respectively. On each day «there will be several historical recreations and lots of entertainment, with performances of theatre, dance and music», highlights the Câmara de Lagos.
At the opening of the event, there will be a traditional procession, made up of students, teachers and the school community, «in close articulation with the association's associative movement and historical recreation groups».
With more than 2000 extras, «this initiative marks “A Departure” for adventure and involves participants and visitors on a return trip to one of the golden periods of our history and the arrival of navigators and their entourages who, once, they walked the streets of the historic city of Lagos, representing the society of the time, dressed in the fashion of the XNUMXth century», adds the municipality.
The event will also feature other entertainment centers such as the Caravela Boa Esperança, Fort Ponta da Bandeira or the Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos, where the public can participate in «unique experiences linked to this historical period and the identity of Lagos dos Descobrimentos» , concludes the Chamber of Lagos.
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