In all, there are 58 activities from 18 companies across the country that allow us to see how art is “very alive” and that there are more and more companies emerging, with the organisation assuming that it is the festival's responsibility to ensure that “the tradition is not missed in the Algarve” and that the public “gain affection to the puppets”, told Lusa the artistic director of FOMe, Jeannine Trévidic.

“Adults love to see [puppets] because they revisit the child inside them a little, but there are shows for children, young people, families and adults,” said Jeannine Trévidic. After a year of intermission due to the pandemic, São Brás de Alportel, Faro, Olhão, Loulé, Albufeira and Tavira host the festival that brings together “the best that is done”, at national level, in the area of puppet theatre and “promises provide lots of fun moments” for kids and grown-ups, according to the director.

For three years now, FOMe has combined gastronomy and puppetry with shows “having this motto” or “challenging” chefs or pastry chefs to view the play and “create something to “serve the spectators”. Until January 2022, the Costume Museum in São Brás de Alportel hosts a set of puppets by Jorge Cerqueira “made especially for the festival” that pay homage to some figures who influenced the evolution of gastronomy and human behaviour around the table.

The FOMe starts on 4 September with the show “Sómente” by Teatro Só, in Largo da Pontinha in Faro, and ends on 25 September with the Cactus Workestra concert, the result of a five-day workshop where participants give sound to a set of ten cacti. Over three weeks, in addition to all the shows, there will be the opportunity for the public to build their own puppet in the Puppet Construction Workshop or watch the workshop documentary that gave rise to the orchestra's show of cups, saucers and spoons, which closed the 2019 edition. The complete FOMe program will be distributed in physical format, but will also be available on the festival's Facebook page. All events are free but subject to reservation.