Alcoutim is going to carry out an authentic “revolution” in its Walking Festival, which will be spread over different dates throughout the year, instead of being concentrated in just one weekend, in March, he revealed to the Sul Informação Júlio Cardoso, from the Culture, Cultural Heritage and Tourism Unit of the Alcoutim Chamber.
For now, there are still no dates for the 2023 edition, according to the senior technician who coordinates the organization of the event.
«We are reformulating a little what the Walking Festival is. In this 9th edition – which would be the 10th, if there had not been the pandemic [in 2021 there was no festival] -, we want to move forward with a new format. There will be several dates throughout the year, although there may be a main weekend», he summarized.
«The idea is that the hiking festival continues to be cross-border, to happen throughout the year, that it also has a name associated with smuggling. It will have a new name, it will no longer be the Alcoutim and Sanlúcar Walking Festival and will be somewhat associated with smuggling, it will have a new image, that is, it will have a “washed” image», he added.
The objective is to create «a festival of experiences in the rural environment, in the cross-border environment. We want to reconcile walks with the cycle of products, with nature throughout the year, but also with astronomy, with the night».
«We are studying, we are talking with the partners of the Algarve Walking Season, with the funding entity RTA [Região de Turismo do Algarve], to launch the new format. It won't be in March, because we have the Smuggling Festival and it was difficult for our tourism service to dedicate itself to both», explained Júlio Cardoso.
The 2023 Contrabando Festival, which will take place between the 24th and 26th of March, will be the biggest ever, like the Sul Informação already managed.
«Of course they are events with very different realities, but then you end up wasting all your energy on the Contrabando Festival», which harms the organization of the walks, concluded the festival coordinator.
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