Historical processions, a masked ball, a banquet, dancing, music, poetry and much more. Vila Real de Santo António will travel back in time, starting this Friday, May 12th, with the new XNUMXth century Festival, which will also honor the Marquis of Pombal.
Ao Sul Informação, Conceição Pires, Councilor for Culture of the Vila Real de Santo António Chamber, explained that this initiative will focus on the «time of the Marquês», which also coincides with the «birth» of the Enlightenment city of VRSA, after the great earthquake of 1755.
«A few years ago, there was a historic parade, on City Day, but that made an incursion to the present day. Here, we are going to focus on a specific historical time, also celebrating City Day», said the mayor.
Thus, the parade, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, the 13th and 14th, at 15 pm, will be one of the highlights.
Tonight, there is also a masquerade ball scheduled, in honor of King José I, with lessons in etiquette and dance of the time. The dance starts at 21:00 at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre.
On Saturday, one of the highlights of the night will be the banquet, also at the same Cultural Center.
In all this work, according to councilor Conceição Pires, there was “great care with historical accuracy”.
«We did a very rigorous job, with the help of the Historical Archive, which made a great contribution to the whole event», he explained to our newspaper.
During the festival, there will also be fire juggling, as well as, permanently, interactive shows with the public (games, scene fights, artistic fencing, among others).
In the market, recreational activities will take place, such as music and dance, baroque music concerts, singing, juggling and acrobatics, dexterity games, falconry, weapons training, among other attractions.
According to Conceição Pires, the XNUMXth century Festival was conceived to become «an anchor, reference event».
«We made a strong publicity, also in our neighboring Spain. Although we have not made any prospect of the number of visitors, we have high expectations. Deep down, we want this Festival to become a distinctive mark of Vila Real de Santo António», added the councilwoman.
In addition to an intense entertainment program, the last day of the festival, on the 14th of May, ends with the final show, on Avenida da República, facing the Guadiana River, where there will be no shortage of music, dancing and a magnificent firework display.
With the exception of the masked ball and the banquet, tickets for which are on sale at the António Aleixo Cultural Center and at the BALL, all events are free entry.
The complete program can be consulted here
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