Sent at 2016-07-18 | Culture

The seventh edition of the Ribeira Grande 16th-Century Fair takes place between July 21st and 24th, in the city's historic centre, under the title "Islanders amongst pirates and volcanoes," bringing into the spotlight the lives of the islanders in a period marked by pirate attacks and by the mercilessness of the volcanoes that left their mark on the municipality.

As in 2015, this year's edition includes "has four fair days and promises to be a major event," highlighted Filipe Jorge, the Councillor for Culture of the Ribeira Grande Town Council, in the press conference for presentating the programme of the fair, which is expected to draw twenty thousand visitors.

This year, the 16th-Century fair returns to Hintze Ribeiro Square and reaches the Cascata area, where there will be an area for children, maintaining almost the same number of handicraft, food and beverage stalls as in the previous year.

"The fact that we are able to maintain almost the same number of stalls year after year tells us that the entrepreneurs are committed to the 16th-Century Fair; in other words, that this fair seeks and generates return," explained Filipe Jorge, the councillor that, on that matter, underlined that "this event serves as an anchor that brings thousands of people to the city, thus boosting our local businesses."

This year, the 16-Century Fair involves the participation of sixteen groups (eight local groups, four national groups and four international groups), which "demonstrates that it is increasingly viable to organize this festival with local groups, as a corollary of the investment made by the council on targeted training," stressed Filipe Jorge.

Each day of the 16th-Century Fair will be dedicated to a specific subject (as shown in the programme) and during the entire fair there will be flash entertainment events, historical recreations and performing arts, characters, fables, stories, plenty of music and dancing.

Filipe Jorge stated that the wish of council executives to "turn the Ribeira Grande 16th-Century Fair into a national and international tourist attraction, something that is already beginning to happen considering the many requests made by emigrants to know the date of the event and schedule their vacations for that period."

The seventh edition of the 16th-Century Fair is the second organized on an annual basis, repeating the four days assigned in 2015. "Our investment in an additional day is a result of the growth that the event witnessed in the past two years and it will allow generating more revenue for the local entrepreneurs that are involved in the event," explained the councillor.

Most of the entertainment will be ensured by Viv'Arte, together with three other national groups, four international groups and eight local groups, whose participation is growing. Nearly three hundred extras will be involved in the daily parades.

During the four days of the Ribeira Grande 16th-Century Fair, under the title "Islanders amongst pirates and volcanoes," those who visit Ribeira Grande will be able to witness events related to the period's events, namely a recreation of the 1522 catastrophe and the tragedies that followed it.

The 16th-Century Fair is a unique festival in the Azores that recreates the atmosphere experienced in 1507, when King Manuel I granted a Charter to Ribeira Grande, turning the village into a town. It will bring the city's historic centre back to an atmosphere close to the one it experienced nearly 500 years ago.