Feira da Praia

A weeklong party/flea market...

Last week was the Feira da Praia in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. It is hard to fully describe such an event, but I will try. Permit me to also use this event as a cautionary tale.

28 September 2022

It All Started

I started seeing these temporary booths being constructed in the square (Praça Marquês de Pombal) on the 28th of September. By the 29th, they had closed part of Avenida da Republic…the road that runs along the river. I knew there was an event coming up…but wasn’t it scheduled for the second week of October? Talking to neighbors I was able to confirm that it was in fact in anticipation of Feira da Praia, the “beach fair”, an annual event dating back to 1774.

In doing research for this post I found two different accounts.

1. The Feira da Praia, originated in front of the sands of Monte Gordo, in 1765.

   Later, in 1774, when Vila Real de Santo António was founded, it was transferred to the city.

2. The other account claims the event started in VRSA in 1774.

Regardless, it was intended to spur the growth of VRSA specifically the local fisheries. It also happens to always be scheduled to coincide with Spain’s national holiday, Hispanic Day, 12 October. This day is typically marked by military parades, flyovers, and the like. I learned that:

October 12th marks the Fiesta Nacional of Spain, a national holiday that commemorates the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas¹ in 1492. — Malaga Guru

Photo was taken last year …

Last Year

Last year, Denise and I happened to be in VRSA on Hispanic Day. I recall us leaving our hotel, Pousada Vila Real de Santo Antonio, at about 8:30 to head to the golf course. The town square was bustling that morning as vendors appeared to be setting up tables in the square. As we drove north, we noticed an endless stream of tour buses crossing the bridge from Spain. We were clueless. When we returned after lunch the town square was crowded…by evening it was empty except for piles of trash².

This year, pots, pans, umbrellas, and a lot more.

This Year

Covid had severely curtailed the annual celebration for two years. But his year, it was back in full force. It began on 7 October at 10:00 and continued until 15 October at 24:00 (midnight). That is what the website says…but on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights it goes until 01:00 or 02:00.

There are three main draws to this event. First, in the square, you will find food! There is both a farmer’s market/Mercado and prepared food. Second, along the river, you find lots of stuff to buy. A British friend told us it is called the “Pots, Pans and Umbrella Festival”. And yes, we found lots of all these things here. We also found knives, dishes, pottery, woven baskets, bedding, clothes, shoes, toys…etc, etc. Finally, there is the carnival/amusement section. Extending from the bus stop north along the river it screams at you on weekends to the wee hours of the morning.

Please note: the video below makes it all look very civilized. Keep in mind this is to promote the event…it is loud and very crowded.

A Cautionary Tale

I have written before that you really won’t know what it is like to live in a place until you, in fact, live there. This is why we caution folks from buying a future home during an exploratory trip to Portugal. While you might fall in love with a place in two weeks, like many a high school crush, that love affair may end once you get to know the place/person. Since moving to VRSA we have learned about the concerts that begin in the town square at 22:00 and end around midnight. (This is one block from our future home….we will be buying a supply of earplugs to put in our guest room.)

This year we learned that you can hear the Feira da Praia carnival wafting through our bedroom window at 01:00, even though our temporary apartment is 12 blocks from it. It was so loud Sunday night that after taking Onix for her final stroll, I walked downtown. I walked along the river about 5 blocks and passed the Ferris wheel…nope that wasn’t it.

The traveling Ferris wheel seems to pop up in nearly every town in Portugal.

I then walked through blocks of vendors, finally coming to the amusement section. Each amusement had a different theme sound, which became a loud “white noise” after a while. But there was also a woman at one amusement and a man at another trying to “out-hawk” each other as they attempted to attract passers-by. I asked a friend who lives on the river, just 3 blocks from this area, how she is sleeping at night. She confessed that she doesn’t even think about going to bed until 01:00.

Now to be fair, the summer concerts, the influx of tourists in August, and the Feira da Praia have not put us off of living in VRSA. Each month we become more sure of our decision. But we have also decided what weeks we will be planning our vacations next year.

1. Note it does not say “discovered America”. I searched multiple sites and the wording was always the same. Clearly, these history lessons are more accurate than those I received.

2. I don’t understand why people don’t use the trash bin that is literally one meter from where they discarded a cup, beer bottle, or napkin. I can’t even imagine what the clean-up costs are for this event!