Lagos: Walk & Art Fest has once again filled Barão de São João with walkers looking for art

Festival returns in 2022, and is already on the agenda and itinerary of lovers of nature and creative expression

Photo: Carlos Afonso | CM Lagos

The Walk & Art Fest once again welcomed backpackers, between the 5th and 7th of November, at the União de Freguesias de Bensafrim and Barão de São João, in Lagos, in an event with around 700 participants and a diversified program of 81 activities, including hikes, themed walks, mountain biking routes, workshops, sessions for children, painting a mural, watching a documentary and even a concert.

After the 2020 edition "has run in an atypical way, with more limited participation due to the restrictions of the pandemic", the festival returned, "growing in public and in repercussion", the organization begins by saying.

This year there was an increase in the participation of families and, although there was an increase in activities for children, the vast majority sold out.

The increase in the multiculturality of the participants “was notorious”, having been verified by the organization, “the adhesion of many resident foreigners but also of tourists”, highlighting “the various participants residing outside the Algarve who purposely traveled to the festival”.

 

Photo: Carlos Afonso | CM Lagos

 

One of the highlights of the event was once again the artistic installation, this year with the theme “Countercycle”, but half of the 81 planned activities were sold out, with “a total of around 1300 entries, which means that many visitors took advantage of the diversity of offer and signed up for more than one activity», emphasizes the organization.

Tiago Saga's concert was another of the highlights of this event in which the musician, who has roots in the municipality of Lagos, «created an atmosphere of real party, sang two songs “in the Algarve” and, in a performance that began in a more intimate way , ended with the audience dancing in front of the stage of the Cultural Center of Barão de São João».

In this edition, visitors had the opportunity to visit the artistic installation in the company of some of the artists who created it and learn more about the creative process of each of the pieces. «This involvement of the local creative community is also a of the characteristics that make this festival unique», he stresses.

 

Photo: Carlos Afonso | CM Lagos

 

The artist Jorge Pereira promoted one of the most participative moments through the mural painting he made on an exterior wall of the Cultural Center. Visitors were also able to collaborate, leaving a mark of the festival in the space.

This year, some of the walks were marked by interventions by partner artists who, in addition to surprising the participants, «reinforced the intimate connection between art and nature that this festival seeks to express», stresses the organization.

There was also space for local artisans to show their products and for visitors to taste a sweet or just buy a souvenir.

The Cultural Center bar turned out to be the meeting and social point for all visitors, who «mostly enjoyed the terrace and the heat of the sun», having served as a space for socializing and sharing over the three days.

For Hugo Pereira, Mayor of Lagos, «Walk & Art Fest is a differentiating event, already consolidated, which promotes not only environmental values, but also cultural and heritage values ​​in the interior of the municipality. This festival undoubtedly complements the tourist offer outside the high season in the region. The spirit that animates this event is indeed contagious».

«Participants who return every year and bring new friends or family attest to this and this year is marked by the presence of many who came from all over the country, but not only. The event is starting to arouse the interest of international tourists», emphasizes the mayor.

 

Photo: Carlos Afonso | CM Lagos

 

Anabela Santos, from Associação Almargem, the entity that co-organizes this event, says that «this has been, since the first year, a very special festival».

«There were several people who congratulated us that every year we were able to present such a vast and diversified program, always with new activities. There is no better incentive than this for us to continue. We cannot fail to thank all the participants, as this event is designed for them. But obviously it is imperative to thank all the artists, as it is also their festival and without them it would never have been possible to even start this event, as well as the guides and facilitators who led the activities and generously shared their knowledge»

«I would also like to thank the team at the Cultural Center of Barão de São João, whose dedication and work made it possible for these three days to be a success and leave good memories for everyone. Without a network of partners working in such an aligned and motivated way, none of this would be possible», says Anabela Santos.

The festival is scheduled to return for 2022, from 4 to 6 November, in a 5th edition that "is already on the agenda and on the itinerary of lovers of nature and creative expression", concludes the organization.

 

Photos: Carlos Afonso | Lagos City Council



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