"This agenda is precisely a calling card for our city," stated the Mayor of Vila Real, speaking at a press conference.

The mayor highlighted that the agenda includes more than 100 free activities, taking place between May and the end of September, with a total budget of approximately 300,000 euros.

He also mentioned that the municipality has prepared an eclectic program, bringing together cultural events or those related to education, youth, sports, or the environment, to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

Alexandre Favaios emphasised that, year after year, the number of tourists choosing Vila Real as a destination at this time of year increases, and that this also has an economic impact on the municipality.

The agenda kicks off with the youth showcase on Saturday and peaks in June, as the city celebrates three popular saints: Saint Anthony, Saint John, and Saint Peter.

The program for next month includes a mega popular dance with four bands (MO Music, Impacto, Ritmo Jovem Banda, and República), the Saint Anthony fair with carousels, the livestock fair and the national Maronês cattle competition, the traditional popular marches, as well as the fair of the little pots and the game of the pottery, celebrating the black pottery of Bisalhães, which is a UNESCO intangible heritage.

It also includes concerts by Slow J, Margarida, Mena, Marisa Liz, Bié, Manuel Sequeira Basto, the Army Light Orchestra, the Mateus Music Band, Dino D’Santiago, and Luís Trigacheiro.

July kicks off with a new initiative: open-air cinema in the parishes, and the resumption of the Arruada street arts cycle, the concert series at the municipal archive, and the 55th edition of the Vila Real International Circuit, on a weekend (10-12 July) enlivened by concerts from David Fonseca, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Gift, and Kura.

Israeli artist Lala Tamar and Vitorino will perform as part of the "Do Lado do Verão" initiative at the Municipal Theatre. This month marks the 101st anniversary of Vila Real's elevation to city status, and the first-ever "Circuito dos Sabores" event will take place in the Carreira garden, with 50 participants linked to oenology and gastronomy, aiming to revitalise this space in Vila Real.

Emigrant Day is celebrated on 29 July with a performance by Os Quatro e Meia and DJ Hugo Miranda.

In August, there are also, for the first time, the bandstand dances in the Carreira garden, an initiative that aims to recall the dances of yesteryear, which in Vila Real were called Carolina dances and took place at the Teatro-Circo.

In September, another edition of the Pitoresco street arts festival takes place, as well as the Senhora da Pena pilgrimage, the Entre quem lê literary festival, and the agenda concludes with Algures a Nordeste - Contemporary Dance Festival and Feedback – CRL Central Elétrica.

“The activities we present here are much more than leisure; they are art, culture, education, identity, heritage, a celebration of who we are and what we have to offer to the people of Vila Real and those who visit us,” concludes the Councillor for Culture of the Vila Real City Council, Mara Minhava.