Singing, dancing, wine, cheese and a host of other delicacies will be on offer at Peterborough’s first ever Portuguese Festival this weekend.
The two-day festival on Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20 will feature a packed programme of events and arts and crafts stalls and will be an opportunity for the city’s 2,000 Portuguese residents to celebrate their heritage and share their traditions with the wider Peterborough community.
The Portuguese community is the latest to add a festival to the city’s calendar of events following on from the successful Latvian and Diwali festivals and the Italian Festival which happens each September.
Councillor Lucia Serluca (pictured left), Cabinet Member for City Centre Management, Culture and Tourism, said: “I am delighted that the Portuguese community wanted to hold its first ever festival in the city centre as it is another opportunity for one of the city’s diverse communities to celebrate its heritage and share its culture and traditions with the rest of the city.
“The commercial operations team and Vivacity work very hard to ensure Peterborough has a packed programme of events throughout the year such as the recent heritage festival which attracted over 30,000 people and I would encourage people to come along and support it, try some of the delicacies on offer and enjoy the music and dancing.”
Paulo Batista, from the Portuguese community, said: “We will have traditional wine and foods for people to come along and sample and there will also be a chance to see and hear some traditional folk music and dancing. It promises to be a great weekend and we hope lots of people will come and support it.”
The event coincides with Saturday’s BBC’s Big Day Out event in Cathedral Square for Sue Ryder Care’s Raise the Roof Campaign to raise £6 million to build a new hospice in Peterborough.
Annette Joyce, Peterborough City Council’s Assistant Director for Commercial Operations, said: “I am delighted that we are working with both the Portuguese community and the BBC to bring two great events to Cathedral Square over two days in July. Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts now travels all over the world entertaining audiences. But now visitors and residents will get to hear him sing against the backdrop of our beautiful square and Cathedral. It promises to be a really great weekend.”
The line-up for the music event on the Saturday, which starts at 1pm, includes Radio 1-tipped Fenech Soler, local folk music award nominee Adrian Duffy, the One Eyed Cats, local choirs Peterborough Voices with Sing for Life Women and the Take Note Community Choir, dance act Goldstar and Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts. BBC presenters Paul Stainton, Jane Smith and Nick Carter will also be compering on the day.
Comments