The annual Portuguese Festival, a celebration of all things Portuguese culture, food, music and dance, is back with a bang!
The three-day celebration is set to take place at the Nasrec Expo Centre from May 26 to 28.
The festival provides an opportunity for both the Portuguese community and visitors to experience the essence of Portuguese culture and immerse themselves in the traditions, tastes, sounds and rhythms of Portugal.
The event also aims to foster cultural exchange and appreciation among the festival goers.
The diverse stellar line-up includes Kurt Darren, Jack Parrow, Mi Casa, Choppa, DJ Crazy G Joao Quintino, Diana de Sousa, Miguel Pregueiro and Ana de Abreu.
The event organiser Paulo Calisto explained that the festival will “encapsulate” the best of the South African Portuguese culture.
“We are extremely proud of the musical line-up we have put together for the 2023 Portuguese Festival,” said Calisto, in a press statement shared with IOL Entertainment.
“We have obviously catered for Portuguese tastes in our set lists, but we represent a whole range of musical genres on each of the show days.
“I advise any music fan who wants to see a particular artist to visit our website or Facebook page and see which artists are appearing on a particular day, as the set lists will be different.
“Obviously, Sunday will be the big day as far as the musical line-up is concerned when we will be rolling out our heavy musical hitters.”
The Portuguese Festival 2023 is set to revive a proud decades-old tradition that was established at Wemmer Pan, which was closed to the public, due to environmental and geological concerns.
“Another huge attraction at the event will be the traditional Portuguese dances, performed by dancers in full traditional costumes.
“The Portuguese community has grown vastly in South Africa over the years and is now said to number over half a million people. Of course, Portugal’s links to South Africa were established before any other European nation.
“Bartholomeu Dias, a noted Portuguese explorer, was the first European to set foot on South African soil when he reached the Cape in 1488. That was over 170 years before the Dutch established a refreshment post for ships in 1652.”
Other big attractions at the event include helicopter flips, a children’s play area and a mini fun fair.
Tickets to The Portuguese Festival 2023 are R80 and available through Computicket.