Albufeira fulfills its "dream" by hosting a Hunting, Fishing, Tourism and Nature Fair

Music poster features Richie Campbell and António Zambujo

Albufeira will host, from the 5th to the 7th of July, for the first time, the Hunting, Fishing, Tourism and Nature Fair, a «dream» that has come true. 

The event will take place at Marina de Albufeira.

In addition to the usual exhibitions related to hunting, fishing, tourism, nature, land products and agricultural machinery, there will be several equestrian demonstrations, exhibitions of native Algarve breeds and exhibition of exotic breeds, falconry, competitions (honey, Algarvian churra sheep, dogs, sweets ), the Tourism and Citriculture round table “Exportar here inside”, the colloquium “Management and health of game species, book presentation, the Pack Contest – 9th Duarte Rosa Trophy, the Final of the Regional Championship of Sto Huberto, the 1st “José Maria Seromenho” Cup from the Hunting Area of ​​Albufeira and the 1st Obstacles Cup – City of Albufeira.

The event also has a musical program: on the 5th (Friday), at 23 pm, Richie Campbell takes the stage, on the 00th (Saturday), at the same time, the participants are treated to the performance of António Zambujo and on the 6th (Sunday), at 7 pm, the end of the musical program is the responsibility of the José Praia e Áquaviva group from Albufeira.

The official presentation of the event was attended by José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, João Amaral, administrator of Albumarina, Vítor Palmilha, president of the Board of the Federation of Hunters of the Algarve, Fernando Medronho, president of the General Assembly of the Federation of Caçadores do Algarve, Pedro Valadas Monteiro, regional director of Agriculture of the Algarve, and João Arez, president of the Association of Hunters and Fishermen of the municipality of Albufeira.

The event also had a particularity: it was the first public initiative in which Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues participated as regional director of the Nature and Forest Conservation Institute of the Algarve, after leaving the City Hall of Portimão.

The event, which will occupy a covered exhibition area of ​​2100 square meters, needs outdoor space to install the arena, boxes and benches, equestrian shows, animal exhibition, agricultural machinery and equipment, taverns, handicrafts, among other activities .

José Carlos Rolo revealed that this was the main challenge he faced to bring the event to Albufeira, having confessed that he had been willing to do so for some time now.

 

 

«José Arez and Vítor Palmilha were largely responsible for achieving this dream, but it was not easy. Fortunately, we were able to reach an agreement with the Marina de Albufeira and the Feira will really happen», he said.

The mayor stressed that this type of event is an asset for the municipality and for the region itself, as they attract many visitors and help boost the economy.

«In addition to hunting and fishing, linked to the balance and preservation of species, the fair also includes the area dedicated to tourism and nature, which makes perfect sense, since the dynamism of rural and tourism nature help diversify the product and are complementary to sun and beach tourism», he concluded.

The Marina de Albufeira administrator said he was very happy with the invitation from the City Council to hold the event there, stressing that «the experience of the company's last 22 years is an asset and guarantees that the event will arrive a good port».

João Amaral highlighted the importance of the event, which in his opinion «should be replicated in other places, with a view to attracting and settling people in the interior of the Algarve and helping to combat the problems of seasonality».

Vitor Palmilha took the opportunity to take stock of the event's trajectory over the past 23 years, the different places he visited and “the adaptation to the new times, namely with regard to the change of name, which is, of course, related to with new aspects and the dynamics that are intended to be imprinted in the areas of Tourism and Nature».

The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Hunters of the Algarve made a point of stressing that the move to Albufeira was consensual, information corroborated by his colleague Fernando Medronho, who pointed out as the main reasons «the centrality of the municipality and good accessibility».

In addition to numerous participants from the western Algarve, this year the organization will also have the presence of representatives from Galicia, the Basque Country and Andalusia.

In turn, the president of the Association of Hunters and Fishermen of Albufeira underlined that the association, which has been in existence for 31 years, has been linked to the organization of the event since the beginning.

João Arez said that the community has a shooting range, manages a municipal hunting area and has hunting and fishing practitioners, who participate in various competitions throughout the year.

"We are hunters and fishermen, but we are concerned with land use planning and we are aware that these activities are of enormous importance at a tourist, social and environmental level," he said.

Environmental sustainability, the defense of endogenous products and the rural world were the main challenges identified for the region by those responsible for Agriculture and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.

Pedro Valadas Monteiro described the event as "a show of excellence in hunting and fishing, but also in terms of agri-food and handicraft activities, which is very important because it is a way to push for other activities", having highlighted the Roundtable on Tourism and Citriculture, scheduled for the second day of the event.

Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues took the opportunity to praise the organization's acumen by taking the event to the Marina: «it's a way of bringing the interior to the sea», also underlining the «perseverance of the organizers who, over 23 years, remain committed and to fight for the event to be a success».

The initiative also has the support of the Algarve Tourism Region, Albufeira Promotion Agency – APAL and Albufeira Agricultural Credit.

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