O 8th Walking Festival Ameixial/Ameixial Walking Festival (Loulé), is back on the 8th and 9th of May «to reveal the natural and cultural wealth of the Serra do Caldeirão», with «due security». Altogether, there will be 18 walks that will take place in these two days, in addition to other initiatives.
For the first time, the Walking Festival Ameixial takes place outside its normal date (last weekend in April), due to circumstances imposed by Covid-19.
The program includes, on May 7th, an online conversation on “Ameixial, Hoje e Tomorrow”, in which, according to the organizers of the event, “it will seek to exchange constructive and positive ideas about the sustainable development of this territory”.
The conversation will feature the participation of ameixialenses, experts, participants from previous editions of the hiking festival and other guests. The event is open to everyone and will be broadcast live on social media.
The regular, themed and family walks were divided between the 8th and 9th of May.
Distances vary between 4 and 23 kilometers, on signposted walking routes, guided by guides from the region, from the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV), or «by someone who can explain to us more about the archeology of writing in the Southwest and Pre. -history, but also about the geology of the mountains, the world of insects and animals or the heritage around the village».
Participation in the Walking Festival Ameixial costs 5 euros (one day) and 10 euros (for two days). Applications can be made here.
All walks will start at 9:30 am at predetermined locations (in order to avoid crowding between participants and in the village).
There is also the option of booking, for each day, «a lunch full of unforgettable mountain flavors. This option aims to make a small contribution to the local economy, since in this edition there will be no gatherings, dinners or musical moments in the village, in order to avoid any health risk situation», explain the promoters.
As part of this year's edition, it was also restructured the website dedicated to the Walking Festival Ameixial.
According to the promoters of the Walking Festival Ameixial, the new portal is intended «on the one hand, to help the visitor to know the natural and cultural values of the parish of Ameixial, but also to reveal all the work that has been done within the scope of its organization. Festival. Contributions such as environmental and cultural awareness, the implementation of equipment to support walking, the creation of artistic heritage from the archaeological heritage, the recovery of ethnographic heritage and intangible knowledge, or the reforestation of some spaces».
Southwest writing, the first form of writing on the Iberian Peninsula that is concentrated between Baixo Alentejo and the Algarve, is the differentiating element of the Walking Festival Ameixial. This Festival also aims to “reinforce the community's identity with its rich natural and cultural heritage; contribute to boosting the local economy; raise awareness of its sustainable development and expand the offer and mitigate the effects of tourist seasonality in the Algarve».
In a strategy to help position and promote “Serra” in the Nature and Cultural Tourism segment, the Walking Festival Ameixial also integrates the Algarve Walking Season, a network of walking festivals that take place in Alcoutim, Barão de São João (Lagos ) and, for the first time, in Monchique.
It is also part of the “Geoparque Algarvensis” initiative, whose objectives coincide with the mission of this festival.
The 8th Ameixial Hiking Festival is an initiative promoted by QRER – Cooperative for the Development of Low Density Territories, organized by Proactivetur, ESTELA Project, Loulé City Council and Algarve Tourism Region, with the support of the Board of Freguesia do Ameixial, of the Municipal Museum of Loulé, of ANA Aeroportos, among many others.
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