Category: News

  • Lagoa Street Artist Huariu running for International Award

    Lagoa Street Artist Huariu running for International Award

    Algarve street artist Huariu (Stephen Jones) is currently in the running to win an international award for a mural he painted in Cambre, Spain in July 2022

    – January 19, 2023

    Huariu, Nomination for Street Art Cities, Best of 2022 3

    The impressive mural, which depicts a child with a butterfly on her shoulder, is nominated for the ‘Best of 2022’ award organised by online platform Street Art Cities.

    The award aims to single out the best out of 100 graffiti nominated around the world.

    “This piece serves as a reminder, a throwback to our childhood. The inocence, the eyes full of wonder, knowing nothing, having nothing, but feeling so whole, so connected with life. Those golden moments of wonder, joy, no tension, no worry, no anxiety, have to be regained, have to be rediscovered. The child looking at a butterfly on her shoulder may seem like a simple everyday scene, however, it hides one of the great reflections of our society, the lack of human presence. How much importance do we give to each moment? On what basis do we give it?”

    Enraizado No Presente‘ (Rooted in the Present) speaks to us about the great importance of paying attention, with all our being, to the little magical moments that happen around us, all of them.

    Huariu, Nomination for Street Art Cities, Best of 2022

    “It always fills us with pride to see the work of the people of Lagoa be recognised around the world, in many areas and in different ways, and this time is no exception,” said Lagoa Mayor Luís Encarnação. “Congratulations to Stephen, who is a great artist, and I am hoping for him to win with the help of everyone.”

    Readers may recall Huariu as the artist who went viral after unveiling two giant paintings of F1 legends on a football pitch in Mexilhoeira Grande to celebrate the two F1 Grand Prix that were held in the Algarve in 2020 and 2021.

    Voting is open until January 27 on the Street Art Cities app.

    You can also follow Huariu on his social media pages (@Huariu).

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  • Portimão will host the first-ever Art Expo Algarve this February

    Portimão will host the first-ever Art Expo Algarve this February

    The event will bring together over 150 national and international artists from painters and digital artists to mixed-media creatives, photographers and more

    – January 17, 2023
    Storks nesting at Odiáxere, by Malcolm Hyde
    Storks nesting at Odiáxere, by Malcolm Hyde

    The first Art Expo Algarve, an art exhibition which will bring together over 150 national and international artists together under the same roof, will be held for the first time between February 10 and 12 at the Portimão Arena.

    The event is organised by a group of gallery owners and curators to address the lack of a large-scale art exhibition in the south of Portugal.

    As organiser John Ganhão told the ResidentArt Expo Algarve will feature established and emerging artists, galleries and artist collectives, who will be exhibiting and selling high-quality artworks directly to the public. The idea to organise the event was inspired by John Ganhão’s travels around the world with his wife and artist, Viktoria Ganhão.

    Blue Abstraction III, by Viktoria Ganhão
    Blue Abstraction III, by Viktoria Ganhão

    “We’ve been travelling around the world for 15 years, exhibiting at fairs and exhibitions abroad. I fell in love, not only with her art, but the works of many other artists around the world. But we noticed that there was also potential to organise our own event in the Algarve,” he said.

    “We will be having artists from all over the world taking part. The event attracted a lot of interest, as there is no event like this one in the Algarve,” John told us.

    The list of artists spans a wide range of areas, such as paintersdigital artistsmixed media artistsphotographers, sculptors and ceramic and glass artists.

    Indeed, one of the goals of the event is to give art lovers in the Algarve, as well as the region’s visitors, a chance to enjoy spectacular artworks made by a wide range of artists.

    Sam, by Eleonora Islamova
    Sam, by Eleonora Islamova

    “There are many artists and some galleries (in the Algarve), but there wasn’t an event that brought them all together for a few days in one space,” said Ganhão.

    This is precisely why organisers made sure to secure a large enough venue to accommodate such a large number of artists.

    “We have a partnership with Portimão Council, which allowed us to use the Portimão Arena. These kinds of events take up a lot of space and there aren’t many spaces with the conditions to host these events,” he said.

    Portimão Arena also boasts plenty of parking and is located near the northern entrance of the town, making it easily accessible for people travelling from outside of the town.

    The first edition of the event was due to be held in 2022 but was delayed until this year due to the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, which halted the travel plans of many of the participating artists at the time.

    Art Expo Algarve will be free to visit and opening hours will be between 11am and 9pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am and 8pm on Sunday. The fair is wheelchair-friendly.

    More information on the event, such as the full list of participating artists, can be found online at www.artexpoalgarve.com

    By Michael Bruxo

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  • Monchique promoted in international campaign

    Monchique promoted in international campaign

    “Let Monchique guide your adventure” is the motto of the new Algarve Tourism campaign aimed at every type of traveller

    – December 12, 2022

    Serra Monchique, Algarve

    The Algarve Tourism Association (ATA) has launched a new promotional campaign inviting tourists to discover Monchique. With the motto, “Let Monchique guide your adventure”, it challenges visitors to explore the various experiences the destination offers for every type of traveller.

    The campaign consists of several videos and photography revealing that, whether travelling alone, with a partner or with family and friends, there is an adventure made to measure for everyone in Monchique.

    The images featured, captured in the municipality over nine days, showcase the wealth of Monchique’s tourist offer, highlighting nature activities, the thermal spa, the culture and heritage and the authenticity of the local gastronomy.

    “With this campaign, we want to arouse the interest of all tourists and demonstrate that Monchique has much more to offer beyond its fantastic natural landscapes. We intend to send the message that, regardless of the plans and motivations that bring them to the Algarve, every traveller can find the adventure they are looking for in Monchique. They will have the opportunity to be surprised and live unique and truly transformative experiences here,” explains João Fernandes, President of Tourism Algarve.

    This initiative is part of the “Revitalize MonchiqueTourism as a catalystproject, which seeks to give new life to the municipality by creating attractive conditions to develop local tourism. To promote this campaign, ATA has partnered with Almargem – Association for the Defence of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the Algarve and the municipality of Monchique, and also counts on the support of Turismo de Portugal.

    Text Alexandra Stilwell

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  • Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to study

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to study

    Lagoa, the place to be

    – December 9, 2022

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to a study - Carvoeiro (by Inês Lopes)

    Lagoa is hoping to attract a new wave of investors and residents after being named the “best municipality to live in Portugal” in a study carried out by the Institute of Behavioural Technology (INTEC).

    The study, entitled ‘A Qualidade de Vida nos Melhores Municípios para Viver’ (Quality of Life in the Best Municipalities to Live), was open to all municipalities in Portugal that wanted to take part. The participating municipalities (22 in total) were then judged according to 10 categories: tourism; well-being; safety, diversity and tolerance; environment; economy and employment; education and training; identity, culture and leisure; mobility and road safety; health; and urbanism and housing.

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to a study - Estômbar Church
    Estômbar Church

    These criteria were set as a way of determining “quality of life” in the same way as the World Health Organisation (WHO), which defines it as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns”.

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to a study - Lagoa Municipal Auditorium (by Filipe Lima)
    Lagoa Municipal Auditorium (by Filipe Lima)

    Lagoa received the highest score in three categories (‘Tourism’, ‘Wellbeing’ and ‘Safety, Diversity and Tolerance’), which secured first place for the Algarve borough ahead of Caminha, Bragança, Cascais and Pombal.

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to a study - Ferragudo (by Inês Lopes)
    Ferragudo (by Inês Lopes)

    “Those who know Lagoa and who live here are well aware of the reasons that led to this accolade of best municipality to live in Portugal,” said Luís Encarnação, mayor of Lagoa. “However, this distinction is not a point of arrival, but a point of departure.” The mayor believes there is still “much to improve” in Lagoa and assured that the local authority will continue working towards making Lagoa a better place to live, work, study or visit.

    Lagoa, Mayor Luís Encarnação
    Lagoa, Mayor Luís Encarnação

    These efforts will become all the more important as Luís Encarnação is expecting interest in Lagoa to grow following publication of this study. “Lagoa is already a highly sought-after borough for the purchase of first and second homes, and for being a territory with characteristics that set it apart from other municipalities,” said Encarnação. “However, I believe that more people will become interested in investing and living in the borough,” he added.

    With the new attention that results from the study are expected to bring to Lagoa, we asked Luís Encarnação about some of the municipality’s biggest projects which have yet to move forward.

    Lagoa is the “best municipality to live in Portugal”, according to a study - Parchal Estádio da Bela Vista
    Parchal, Estádio da Bela Vista

    Ferragudo Marina – a project which has been in the pipeline for over 15 years – remains on the backburner but the outlook is brighter for Match Lagoa – a project to create a high-performance sports centre in Lagoa, complete with football pitches, a state-of-the-art fitness facility and rehabilitation and sports science areas and its own private hotel.

    Text Michael Bruxo

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  • Grab your tickets for October’s Lagoa Wine Experiences

    Grab your tickets for October’s Lagoa Wine Experiences

    Enjoy a day’s programme full of wine tastings and friendly company

    – September 21, 2022

    wine experiences october 2022

    The 6th session of the Lagoa Wine Experiences happens next month with a set of unique initiatives.

    Participants will meet at 10.30am at the Carlos do Carmo auditorium (Lagoa) from where they will be taken to Única – Adega Cooperativa do Algarve, a place with a rich history in the region’s wine sector.

    wine tastings Morgado do Quintão, Algarve Portugal
    Morgado do Quintão

    A wine tasting session will be held at 11am, followed by a welcome drink and lunch at 1pm at the Morgado do Quintão winery, an established local winery located in a historical property integrated into a rural setting with exclusive Algarve grapes.

    After lunch, participants will visit the Quinta dos Santos winery, between Ferragudo and Carvoeiro, a special place that seamlessly blends the contemporary with the traditional.

    Quinta dos Santos
    Quinta dos Santos

    Tickets cost €45 and include the wine tasting experiences, lunch and transport. They can be purchased online at Bol.pt, CTT, Worten or Fnac, or at Lagoa’s usual outlets (Carlos do Carmo auditorium, São José convent and Balcão Único).

    For more information contact +351 932 251 515 or turismo@cm-lagoa.pt

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  • Portimão Market opens the Algarve’s first “presuntaria”

    Portimão Market opens the Algarve’s first “presuntaria”

    The new shop offers a selection of cured hams, Portuguese wines and small delicacies to please the most demanding palates

    Presuntaria do Mercado Portimão, Algarve

    – September 5, 2022

    Located inside Portimão’s Municipal Market, the Presuntaria do Mercado opened its doors to the public in August. The gourmet shop is the first of its kind in the region, focusing on serving top-quality, 100% acorn-fed Iberian ham sliced using a special Beher knife, Spain’s leading cured ham producer, boasting almost a century of history and products recognised around the world.

    The superior quality of this Spanish brand’s hams results from its complete control of the production process, from rearing the Iberian pigs, fed exclusively on acorns, to the preparation and curing method.

    The shop offers freshly sliced ham and a selection of premium Portuguese wines, handpicked to be paired with the hams, for take-away or to be savoured on the spot. The shop also includes a small delicatessen shop, where other gourmet products, such as biscuits and olive oils, can be found.

    Presuntaria do Mercado Portimão, Algarve

    A calendar of wine tastings and other gourmet events will soon be announced, and an Algarve-wide home delivery service was launched in September.

    Presuntaria do Mercado Portimão, Algarve, Portugal

    The new shop is also participating in this year’s edition of the Rota dos Petiscos, from the September 14 until October 16.

    Text Alexandra Stilwell

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