The extension of the Mediterranean Diet Fair to the old auction area of Tavira, next to the Mercado da Ribeira, is the big news of the 7th edition of the event, which will take place between 5 and 9 September in the center of this city.
More than an option, this expansion of the fairground is a necessity. And the blame lies with the event's success, which leads to more and more producers and artisans wanting to be present.
As revealed by Artur Gregório, from the In Loco association, one of the (many) organizing entities of the event and responsible for this sector, «the demand on the part of producers and artisans is growing, because they believe in our model. There is little room for so much demand, the waiting list is huge».
Jorge Botelho, president of the Chamber of Tavira, which can be seen as the entity that coordinates the organization of the fair, promises to try to "find a solution" for those who want to be present at the fair, but stresses that "the public space is limited".
“We are going to try to find solutions, like the one we found last year, in the streets of the historic centre, where there were stalls here and there. But we will never fail to respect the city, keeping balances», warned the mayor of Tavir.
For the rest, visitors can expect a fair along the same lines as those that preceded it, which «is not a music festival, despite having big names», but an event that «reflects the regional importance of the Mediterranean Diet» and which is “a landmark of affirmation of our gastronomy, our values and conviviality”.
Even with the reservation made by the mayor of Tavira regarding the nature of the festival, it is worth mentioning the musical poster, right from the show “Nação Valente”, which will bring together Sérgio Godinho, Camané and Manuela Azevedo, in Praça da República. on September 8th.
But the aforementioned big names do not stop there, as the poster also features Pedro Abrunhosa (5th), Spanish Silvia Perez Cruz (6th) and fado singer Katia Guerreiro (7th), to mention only the artists who will perform on the main stage at Praça da República.
The mayor of Tavira stresses, moreover, that "there are many cultural proposals" and that, whoever goes to the Mediterranean Diet Fair, "will always have something to do".
The program will have a component linked to the national songbook, which will take to Praça da Convivialidade the Cantadores do Desassossego de Beja Choir Group, “As ceifeiras de Pias”, “The quarries of Vale do Neiva”, the traveling project of the “Nine Musas ” from mythology, as well as performances by folklore groups and Portuguese popular music groups.
In the same vein, there is the return of the “Marenostrum” (day 8), as well as workshops on traditional Mediterranean dances and the programming of “Fado com História”, in Largo da Capela de Nossa Senhora da Piedade.
At the Igreja da Misericórdia, there will be concerts by Pedro Caldeira Cabral (7th) and “Segue-me à Capela” (8th). In the square of Igreja da Misericórdia, on the 7th, the flamenco of “Anamarga” will sound.
At Igreja das Ondas, they will perform “Setkedjé – Marian music in the Middle Ages” (5th), “Evoéh – the magic in the voice of the Sephardic woman” (6th), “Ensemble Andalus”, from Tetuán (7th) ), and “At sea there are no landmarks…”, multidisciplinary work based on the work “Os Pescadores” by Raul Brandão (day 8).
Visitors will also be able to count on the aforementioned exhibition and sale area for local producers and artisans from the most diverse areas, as well as a catering area with four restaurants and two taverns, next to the castle, as usual.
It will be in this area that another stage of the fair will be installed, the Castle, which will receive Monsieur Doumani (Cyprus, 5th), Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou (Morocco, 6th), Cüneyt Sepetçi & Orchestra Dolapdere (Turkey, 7th) and the Banda Adriatica (Italy, day 8).
Another highlight is the area dedicated to the youngest, with games and shows designed for children and young people, for the gastronomic demonstrations in the Mercado da Ribeira, in charge of In Loco – which «in essence, are culture classes», according to Artur Gregório – and for guided tours to different parts of the county, namely the collection of fruit trees of traditional varieties of the Regional Directorate of Agriculture, in Tavira.
It is also important to count on the offer that will be provided by the other partners of the Mediterranean Diet Fair, namely the University of the Algarve, the Regional Coordination and Development Commission, the Tourism Region, the Regional Directorate of Culture and the Hotel School and Algarve Tourism.
O The complete program of the Mediterranean Diet Fair can be downloaded here (PDF format). On the Mediterranean Diet website, which has been an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2013, with its representative community in Tavira, you will be able to follow all the news related to the event.
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