Uses and customsEvents
Country Products and Crafts Fair
Located in the Municipal Park, given the success it has shown, this fair has increased the number of producers and customers looking for fresh, genuine and quality products. During periods of good weather, between the months of May and October, local artisans join in. The Country Products Fair is currently held on the first and third Sunday of each month and during the summer it takes place every Sunday, along with the handicrafts.
Date: between May and October
Organization: Arouca Town Council
Fortnightly Fair
The fortnightly fair takes place on the 5th and 20th of each month. If these days coincide with a Saturday, the fair takes place on the preceding Friday and if it coincides with a Sunday, the fair takes place on the following Monday. It takes place in the Motorhome Park, next to the GNR and here you can find a variety of products, from country produce to textiles.
Date: 5th and 20th of each month
Organization: Arouca Town Council
Annual Interpretive Geosites Route Program
Every year, Arouca Geopark prepares and schedules a program of interpreted visits along the itineraries of the Geosites Route. These visits are accompanied by an Arouca Geopark interpretive guide and include bus transportation, insurance, entrance fees to the interpretive units or Paiva Walkways, an Arouca Agrícola/Geofood snack and a digital photo report. Registration, at a promotional cost, is limited and compulsory.
Date: between March and November
Organization: AGA - Arouca Geopark Association
Carnival
In Arouca Geopark, Carnival is still celebrated as it used to be. With satire, social criticism and a few pranks thrown in, the festivities begin on the Friday before Carnival, with a parade of schools. On the eve of Carnival, a game of Entrudo is played in the historic center, the compadre and comadre are burned and the best traditional masqueraders are elected. On Carnival day, there is a parade and competition for the associations through the streets of the town.
Date: Friday before Carnival, Carnival Eve and Carnival Day
Organization: Arouca School Group, Arouca Town Council and other institutions
Bonfire Procession
ecreating Christ’s last steps to Calvary, the traditional “Procession of the Bonfires” runs through the streets of the town to the sound of the Banda Musical de Arouca and the light of the faithful. Stopping at Calvary, where prayers and a sermon are heard, the floats recreate the most significant moments of Christ’s Passion. An expression of faith and tradition.
Date: Wednesday of Holy Week
Organization: Parish of Arouca and Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Arouca
Paiva Fest
This world-famous event on the River Paiva is attended by national and international athletes. Days of celebration on the River Paiva, around this whitewater sport, with lots of excitement and adrenaline. There are also many “after hours” activities, all taking place in the parishes of Canelas, Espiunca and Alvarenga.
Date: March/April (depending on river flow)
Organization: Whitewater Canoeing Club of Portugal
Feast of Queen Santa Mafalda
The history of Arouca cannot be dissociated from the remarkable presence in these lands of Queen Santa Mafalda. For Arouca, May 2nd is the most important date in the Gregorian calendar. A municipal holiday, this day commemorates the example and legacy of Queen Santa Mafalda, the patron saint of Arouca. A long procession through the streets embodies this faith, which brings hundreds of people to Arouca.
Date: May 2nd
Organization: Royal Brotherhood of Queen Santa Mafalda
Feast of Senhora da Laje
On the tops of mountains or protected by them, there are several chapels where people express their faith and where large numbers of pilgrims come. The hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Laje is located on the Freita plateau, with a festival on May 3rd. Since the end of the 16th century, people have been praying, celebrating and socializing here, in a festival that brings people from all over the municipality and neighboring municipalities to the plateau, where they gather and process past the various stone crosses.
Date: May 3rd
Organization: Parish of Urrô
European Geoparks Week
During this week, all the members of the European Geoparks Network are promoting lots of activities that showcase the geological and vi- tal legacies of planet Earth. In Arouca, European Geoparks Week is always full of activities, as if giving new life to this UNESCO world territory.
Date: last week of May and first week of June
Organization: Arouca Geopark Association
Serra da Freita Ultra Trail
The Serra da Freita Ultra Trail takes place on trails with landscapes of rare beauty. There is an elite race, but there are also other opportunities to test your limits on routes of lesser difficulty.
Date: June
Organization: Associação Trail Running de Portugal with the support of Arouca Town Council
Canyoning Meeting – Vallis
Adventure, challenge, motivation, overcoming and conquest. These are some of the key words of the Vallis Canyoning Encounter. Promoting the development of canyoning as a leisure activity, developing the sport, fostering partnerships with the various entities involved, boosting canyoning in Portugal and involving the community. These are some of the aims of this event.
Date: July
Organization: ECDC Portugal, with the support of the Portuguese Camping and Mountaineering Federation, Arouca Town Council and the Arouca Geopark Association.
Arouca – History of a Monastery
- Portraits of the Baroque
The “Portraits of the Baroque” are a series of activities that are part of the “Arouca. History of a Monastery” and will allow you to discover, in an unexpected and unique way, the Baroque era and the spaces of one of the most important monastic buildings in the country. They will also help prepare visitors for what they will find the following weekend at the Historical Recreation.
Date: penultimate weekend of July
Organization: Arouca Town Council
- Historical re-enactment
At the end of July, time turns back in Arouca. The nuns return to the monastery and life is buzzing in the streets. At this time, high-profile figures who are now part of Arouca’s history arrive and take on a new lease of life. The people sing and dance as they rest from their work, without leaving the shadow of the building where the abbess manages these lands.
Date: last weekend in July
Organization: Arouca Town Council
Arouca Street Arts Festival
With the aim of uniting performers and the public, this festival fills the streets of Arouca’s historic center with color and animation. For three days, there is theater, performance, circus-theater, animation, as well as aerial shows, puppet shows, music, dance and much more.
Date: July
Organization: Teatro Experimental de Arouca and Arouca Town Council
Sounds of the Square
The Sons da Praça concert brings new life to Praça Brandão de Vasconcelos, the historic center and the surrounding area, with a memorable moment in which, every year, big names in national music join the Banda Musical de Arouca. With music, the reopening of the urban space to the people of Arouca is celebrated, after a period of work that has made the historic center more modern and functional.
Date: August
Organization: Arouca Town Council
Arouca International Folklore Festival
Folklore is a fundamental part of our identity. And we can see that by letting ourselves be carried away by the dance circles or the sounds of groups from other countries. The international touch helps us to better understand our richness. This festival, which brings the best of national and international folklore to Arouca, has a wide range of activities on the program, culminating in a show with all the participating groups.
Date: August
Organization: Conjunto Etnográfico de Moldes de Danças e Corais Arouquenses
Senhora da Mó Festival
With a privileged view over the Arouca valley, the chapel of Senhora da Mó stands on top of one of the mountains that flank it. This festival is celebrated on September 8th with religious ceremonies and children flying kites, a time for socializing, always with the Arouca valley at their feet. The day before, in the evening, the traditional “bacalhoada” takes place.
Date: September 8th
Organization: Senhora da Mó Improvement Committee
Harvest Fair
The Harvest Fair is the biggest annual event in the municipality of Arouca. It always takes place during the harvest season and celebrates the fruits of hard work. The people of Arouca take to the streets to celebrate, to enjoy the fairs, concerts, exhibitions, defoliations, folklore and the saffron parade. At the table there are delicacies such as the Arouquesa breed, convent and regional sweets, and a good mood reigns.
Date: last week of September, from Thursday to Sunday
Organization: Arouca Municipal Council
Arouca Film Festival
The Arouca Film Festival is an international film festival that welcomes and rewards the most creative projects from all over the world. Best film, director, screenplay, acting, photography, editing and sound are some of the prizes up for grabs.
Date: September
Organization: Cine Clube de Arouca in collaboration with Arouca Town Council
Chestnut Festival
Arouca is known as the land of chestnuts and leafy chestnut trees. As a way of highlighting this product and its use in gastronomy, this event is held annually in the town center. Gastronomic exhibitions, fairs, music, theater, workshops, traditional dance workshops, lectures, magustos and popular dances punctuate the days of celebration.
Date: last weekend in October
Organization: Arouca Town Council
Christmas program
Between the first day of December and Three Kings’ Day, Arouca celebrates Christmas with a program full of activities for kids and adults. Lights and music fill the streets of the historic center and spaces such as the Enchanted Barn and the Christmas Park transport residents and visitors into the Christmas spirit.
Date: December 1st to January 6th
Organization: Arouca Town Council
