If you didn't go today to the Interpretation Centre at the S. Vicente Fort, in Torres Vedras, ‘ficou a ver navios’ – you're missing out... but there's no reason to be discouraged: there will be many more Saturday mornings to play, learn and get to know some of the most unusual episodes of the French Invasions, as well as the origin of some of the expressions, so common today, that enriched the Portuguese language during that period. Now, ‘não saia à francesa’ – don't sneak off – take the kids with you.
From the Royal Family's ‘Ala, que se faz tarde’ – ‘Make way, it’s getting late’ – to musical and yoga activities for the family, there's a bit of everything going on at the S. Vicente fort until 1 June next year.
Check out the programme here and pick a day, or - why not? - pick them all and do it ‘à grande e à francesa’ – the French way. Don't let this opportunity ‘ir para o Maneta’ – be wasted –, the little ones will thank you for it.
More than two hundred years after Beethoven erased Bonaparte's name from the dedication page of his 3rd symphony, the Eroica (watch our short documentary if you want to know why), the municipality of Bombarral – which we proudly call ‘one of us’ – is holding its Classical Music Festival.
The festival will debut - very appropriately - on 1 October, World Music Day, with Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition performed by a brass quintet, and will end on a high note (pun intended) on the 29th of the same month, with Mário Laginha and the Banda de Música do CCMB. And if you think that's already great, look what's coming up in the middle: Ana Cosme, with the Trio de Canto, Violoncelo e Órgão; Vivaldi's obligatory Four Seasons, especially dedicated to families; and the CCMB Adult Choir's 40th Anniversary Concert.
The concerts are also an opportunity to get to know some of the town's landmarks: the Eduardo Brazão Theatre, the Church of the Most Holy Saviour of the World, Quinta do Sanguinhal and the Fernão do Pó School Auditorium.
Admission is free to all concerts, subject only to available capacity. We’re sure Beethoven would have applauded.
* the Benfica - FC Porto football match.
We know the feeling: you don't know what to do with the old sabre left over from the Peninsular War campaigns. With the faithful tent that sheltered you on those rainy nights in the Alqueidão fort. With the enamelled basin in which you cooled your face covered in dirt and gunpowder. With the old iron pot in which you cooked the maintenance soup. With the resplendent epaulettes that adorned your garish uniform, before wear and moths did to it what the enemy troops could not.
We have good news!
The municipality of Sobral de Monte Agraço has opened registration for the long-awaited Old and Second Hand Market, to be held on the first Saturday of every month. You have until 1 October to reserve your place at the first edition, which will take place on 7 October, at the Sobral de Monte Agraço Central Bus Station.
For registrations and more information, contact the municipality by the e-mail address turismo@cm-sobral.pt, by telephone on 261 942 296, or pay a visit to the Tourist Office at Praça Dr Eugénio Dias no. 12.
Marcha
feminine noun
1. the act or effect of marching.
Marchinha
feminine noun
1. the act or effect of marching less whilst having a lot of fun along the way.
The March of the Forts crosses the territory of the Lines of Torres Vedras over a distance of 44 kilometres, being this year already in its 17th edition (take note: it's on 14 October!). Its little sister, the Little March of the Forts, is designed for families and animates its 4 kilometres of length with lots of activities, including, imagine, learning how to operate a balloon telegraph.
And since mountain walkers and hikers of all ages leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photographs - they're Friends of the Environment - they'll make the area richer by planting some trees.
For those who think that, because it's smaller than the March, the Little March will be less challenging, we'll talk after the climb up the Serra do Socorro...
The 1st Little March of the Forts will take place on 14 October. Request information and register for free via this e-mail address. You'll receive detailed information and the GPS coordinates of the meeting point in the reply.
Everyone knows that Arruda dos Vinhos is a wine-growing region of excellence, not least because of the fame engraved on the many medals that adorn the labels of the region's producers. And yet, if the Enchanted Valley makes no secret of the excellence of its vineyards, the wines themselves hold many mysteries that are up to you to discover.
Since we at InvadeMAG can't keep a secret, here goes: the municipality of Arruda dos Vinhos, in partnership with local producers, has created the Na Rota do Vinho programme, with guided tours and (surprise!) wine tastings, so that you can investigate first-hand the centuries-old mysteries that Arruda's nectars are made of. See all the details, including how to sign up, here (in Portuguese).
Because a good wine calls for a good glass, and so that you don't think that Arruda only has excellent wines, take the opportunity to get to know the municipality's civil, historical, artistic, military and intangible heritage by signing up for the cycle of guided and audio-guided tours Journeys through Arruda's Heritage, here (in Portuguese).
Who's a friend?
As usual, and because the New Invasions Festival is already a classic, Invade magazine will publish an article about the 2023 edition, which took place from 31 August to 2 September. Because we don't know how to wait, we're bringing you the photos we took of three days of culture, entertainment and amazement in Torres Vedras.
See the gallery here.
Until December, we invite the general public (including, as usual, families with children) to take part in more than 40 initiatives - from music to theatre, sports, equestrian rides, reading activities, health and well-being, citizenship and nature, historical re-enactments and official commemorations, guided tours, games, children's workshops and gastronomy. Have fun while exploring the history and culture of national territories whose identity was marked by the passage of Napoleonic armies during the French Invasions of Portugal.
Download the PDF version of the Agenda, find an initiative near you and join us!
'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.'
(L.P. Hartley, "The Go-Between")
We spend our time counting time itself, watching it flow like sand through our fingers. And if something remains in our memories - like grains of sand that stick to the skin -, most of it will be lost if we don't care to keep it. No longer in formaldehyde, as in the past (they did things differently there), but in the living, dynamic media that the technological revolution has put at our disposal.
Instead of competing with each other, INVADE magazine and the InvadeMAG portal complement each other: because it is not subject to the constraints of paper editions, the latter makes it possible to make available not only content that is not printed due to space limits, but also that which is natural to the new technologies, reaching more distant places and more varied age groups, always in favour of the Lines of Torres Vedras region and the promotion of its tourism and unique historic heritage, adding value to a title of which we are so proud.
And then, if we didn't mark the beginning of things, how would we celebrate their anniversaries? Our lives are a series of countdowns and at the Historical Route we already have many beginnings to celebrate, but that doesn't take away from our commitment when it comes to marking another one: Day Zero of InvadeMAG is today, and it is with renewed ambition that we share it with you.
For ten days and nine nights, from 8 to 17 September, Sobral de Monte Agraço doesn't sleep: anyone who has been to the town's festivities in the past will tell you that while it doesn't sleep, it eats and drinks, dances, cultivates, and, above all, has a lot of fun. We know what we're talking about.
The Sobral Festivities feature a multitude of initiatives and activities aimed at a wide variety of audiences. Check out the Sobral festivities facebook page and you'll see that we're not exaggerating.
As they say in Sobral, "The best festival happens here!"
"The New Invasions festival is both a point of creative confrontation and an affirmation of a European vision based on diversity. These "New Invasions" differ greatly from the original "invasions" that serve as their backdrop.
The Festival is aimed at the general public, especially families looking for entertainment, leisure and knowledge, valuing initiatives that cross popular culture with contemporary artistic and creative expression practices, in an informal and interpersonal context."
The 5th edition takes place from 31 August to 2 September (programme and more information on the official website). Until then, you can see images from previous editions right here on InvadeMAG.
During the Napoleonic Wars, life was tough for horses and riders. Today, of course, an equestrian experience no longer entails tensions greater than the nervousness of those who try to get on the back of a horse for the first time. There is no shortage of horses and riders in the Oeste region, nor of places where both can enjoy nature and develop the physical and psychological well-being inherent in an activity like this.
'Cavalos da Vinha' provides the places, the horses and the experience. The visitor takes away well-being, a few extra years of life and a few stories to tell. Find out more on their website.