The FATACIL (), the ''Craft, Tourism, Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Fair of Lagoa'', occurs annually (since 1980) for 10 days in August in the ''Parque de Feiras e Exposições'' (''Fair and Exhibition Grounds'') in the Algarvan city of

Lagoa, Portugal Lagoa () is a city and concelho, municipality in Districts of Portugal, the district of Faro District, Faro, in the Portugal, Portuguese region of Algarve. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 22,975, in an area of 88.25 km2. Its ur ...

. The special exhibition grounds were created between 1989 and 1992. The fair is attended each year by thousands of visitors from all parts of the country (in 2024 over 200,000 paid visits were recorded) not only because of their interest in promoting traditional arts and crafts which are on the edge of extinction, but also for the shows which occur daily. Recently there have been about 800 exhibitors of various products including the arts and crafts of Portugal generally, and of the Algarve in particular: articles made of everything from

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s to

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

;

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

work; artifacts made of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

;

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

and

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

;

cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

items;

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...

work; or the typical Algarve

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s of Martim Longo and

Querença Querença () is a former Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality of Loulé Municipality, Loulé, eastern Algarve, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Querença, Tôr e Benafim. Located north of Loulé proper, Qu ...

. Described as the largest exhibition south of the Tejo river, it has been visited throughout the years by a number of important figures, such as General

António Ramalho Eanes António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes (born 25 January 1935) is a Portuguese general and politician who was the 16th president of Portugal from 1976 to 1986. Background Born at Alcains, Castelo Branco, he is the son of Manuel dos Santos Eanes, ...

, President of Portugal, in 1981, Prime Minister

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portugal, Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the List of Presidents of P ...

in 1984, and most recently by

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

, President of Portugal, in 2024.''Portugal Resident'', 19 August 2024 The fair also features headliner entertainers, such as the fado singer

Mariza Marisa dos Reis Nunes (born 16 December 1973), known professionally as Mariza (), is a Portuguese fado singer. Mariza was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, to a Portuguese father, José Brandão Nunes, and a Mozambican mothe ...

, on 27 August 2024.

References

External links

Cometoportugal.com: FATACIL (Craft, Tourism, Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Fair of Lagoa) website
Fairs in Portugal Lagoa, Algarve Annual fairs Annual events in Portugal Art festivals in Portugal Cultural festivals in Portugal Trade fairs in Portugal Summer in Portugal 1980 establishments in Portugal Recurring events established in 1980 {{Portugal-culture-stub