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| Algarve Newsletter |
Week of 19 October |
Your Algarve Week
If you were here this week...
You would feel the year turning at both ends of the day. Mornings start at 11 or 12 degrees, then the afternoons climb back to 24 under a dry sky, the best stretch of weather we have had all month. On Saturday night Tavira's old theatre turns 109 and celebrates with one of Portugal's most loved composers on its small stage.
The same evening, Lagos crowns its best amateur fado voice, and Silves fills an exhibition hall with hundreds of artists selling their own work. One practical note: the clocks go back an hour early on Sunday morning, so that extra hour is yours. Here is the week.
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The Whole Algarve
Our 1,535-page guide to visiting and living here. Get it for €14.99 |
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Top 3 events of the week
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Rodrigo Leão: The Boy from the Mountain
Where Teatro Municipal António Pinheiro, Tavira
When Saturday 24 October, 9.30pm. €15
Why it's worth it: Rodrigo Leão calls this his most Portuguese record: choirs, heavy percussion and songs about identity, oppression and hope. Tavira gets it on a special night, the 109th birthday of a theatre that opened on 24 October 1917, and the children's choir of the Academia de Música de Tavira joins him on stage. The room is small and intimate, which is the whole point, and also why the remaining seats will not last. Book this week.
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Art Expo Algarve
Where FISSUL exhibition pavilion, Silves
When Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October
Why it's worth it: The fifth edition of what has become the biggest art fair in the south. Galleries, collectives and hundreds of independent artists from dozens of countries hang original work and sell it directly, so you meet the person who made the painting and can talk price with them. Entry has been free in past editions. Give it a couple of hours, then walk up to the castle for the view over the red rooftops.
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Lagos Amateur Fado Competition: The Final
Where Centro Cultural de Lagos, Auditório Duval Pestana
When Saturday 24 October, 9pm. Tickets at the cultural centre desk
Why it's worth it: Twenty-seven years in, the Clube Artístico Lacobrigense competition is where fado lovers from across the Algarve hear the next voices before anyone else does. These are amateurs, people who sing in tascas and at family dinners, and the nerves are part of the evening. Two hours of finalists, guitarra portuguesa and a jury that has to choose. If you have only heard fado in a restaurant, this is a very different and more honest night.
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Weekend guide
Friday 23 October
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Santa Iria Fair
Markets & fairs, Largo de São Francisco, Faro, to Sunday, free
Last weekend for rides, dried figs and hot farturas. |
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Landscapes of Dream
Music, Igreja do Colégio, Portimão, 7pm, free
String quartet and clarinet: Glazunov and Golijov in a church. |
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Saturday 24 October
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Artists & Fleas
Markets & fairs, Jardim Patrão Joaquim Lopes, Olhão, 10am to 5pm, free
Vintage, art, crafts and live music by the Ria. |
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Loulé Market
Markets & fairs, Historic centre, Loulé, 10am to 2pm
Saturday stalls spread through the historic centre. |
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Pumpkin Market
Markets & fairs, Vila Vita Biergarten, Porches, from 1pm, free
Autumn stalls, family games and live music from 3pm. |
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Flamenco Soul
Music, Auditório Carlos do Carmo, Lagoa, 7pm
Farruca, alegrías and taranto, danced at full strength. |
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Glow Night Run
Sports & outdoor, Municipal pools, São Brás de Alportel, 7pm
A 5km night run with DJ and glow paint. |
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Sunday 25 October
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White Sunday Stock Out
Markets & fairs, Praça Marquês de Pombal, Vila Real de Santo António, 10am
Street market and shop bargains across the grid. |
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Arade River Ascent
Sports & outdoor, Centro Naval, Portimão, 10am, free
Canoes racing upriver; watch from the riverside promenade. |
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Next week
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Avi Avital and Vasco Dantas
Igreja de São Sebastião, Lagos, Friday 30 October, 7pm. The world's best-known mandolinist with pianist Vasco Dantas. Free entry, so arrive early. |
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Raquel Tavares
Teatro Municipal, Tavira, Saturday 31 October, 9.30pm. A great fado voice back after a break, in a small theatre, so book now. |
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Chestnut Festival
Marmelete, Monchique, Sunday 1 November, from 2.30pm. Bonfires, roast chestnuts and music in the serra. |
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Discover Algarve Atlas
The best nights in the Algarve are announced quietly. Hear about them first.
Sentinelas are how you stop finding out too late. Tell the Atlas what you care about, fado within half an hour of home, free concerts, markets in the east, and it watches all twenty of its sources for you and sends an alert the moment something matches. No more scrolling a hundred listings to find the three that were meant for you. It comes with the rest of Premium: the interactive map, the AI trip planner, the full forward calendar and the chatbot.
7 days free, then €2.99/month. Cancel any time.
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Media partners: Algarve Daily News
The Whole Algarve, our 1,535-page guide to the region: get it for €14.99
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