Seafood Festival time in the Algarve

August is seafood festival season in the Algarve and seafood lovers will have a feast of a time at the Portimão Sardine Festival and the Olhão Shellfish Festival.  Both these festivals now form part of the Algarve Gourmet program.

Portimão Sardine Festival (August 8 – 17)

Portimão is situated towards the western end of the Algarve coast, just before Lagos.  Held at the Portimao riverside, this festival has become become one of Portimão’s trademark events. Organized by the local council, the Sardine Festival is well attended by locals and tourists alike.

The grills are already fired up and the familiar aroma of fresh sardines grilling permeates the atmosphere – I’m hungry already! Apart from sardines there will be other Portuguese culinary delights, cooking demonstrations by gourmet chefs and plenty of good wine and beer.  And, as you enjoy your freshly grilled sardines with bread, there’s plenty of live music and concerts to entertain and handicraft stalls to fill up your shopping bags with.  A grand fireworks display closes the Festival on the last evening.

Olhão Shellfish Festival (August 11 – 16)

Olhão is just a little east of Faro and is the Algarve’s biggest fishing port.  The Shellfish Festival is held in the Jardim Pescador Olhanense, next to the avenue on the Ria waterfront. 50,000 visitors are expected to descend upon the 100 or so eateries offering every imaginable seafood delicacy, from octopus and squid to clams, prawns, mussels and the ubiquitous grilled sardines.  Ria Formosa is the least polluted area in Europe and promises that the best quality of shellfish will be served at the Olhão Festival.

There’ll be a broad range of popular folk music and live concerts geared to appeal to visitors of different age range and musical tastes.