Between the 17th and 21st of February, Portimão plays Carnival again through a series of initiatives, ranging from balls to matinees and mask competitions to parades and processions, promising to amuse everyone, organized by the Portimão City Council and the Parish Councils of Alvor, Mexilhoeira Grande and Portimão, with the relevant contribution of the associative movement, as this was a party of a profoundly popular nature.
Parade of floats
Portimão is once again filled with joy, music and animation between the 17th and 21st of February, to host Carnival, this year with the theme “Sustainability and Environment”. For the 2023 edition of the Portimão Carnival, the preservation of nature, for a better planet, will be the motto for the party, with 14 floats, five carnival groups, two exhibition points, music, color and lots of entertainment in the mix. The highlights of the program thus belong to the parades of the floats scheduled for the 19th and 21st of February, respectively, between Polidesportivo da Figueira and Mexilhoeira Grande and in the riverside area of Portimão, from 3.30 pm. It should be noted that, when the floats return to their respective locations, the streets of the village of Alvor will be presented by the processions.
dances and masks
As for the Carnival balls, which open the festivities on the 17th of February and stimulate the imagination and creativity of the revelers, they cover nine communities from all over the municipality, in the rooms of Boa Esperança Atlético Clube Portimonense, Clube União Portimonense, Sociedade Vencedora Portimonense , Sporting Glória ou Morte Portimonense, Clube Desportivo e Recreativo da Pedra Mourinha, Sociedade Recreativa Figueirense, Clube de Instrução e Recreio Mexilhoeirense, Associação Cultural e Recreativa Alvorense 1º de Novembro, and Associação Cultural e Desportiva da Ladeira do Vau .
Carnival balls are one of the main references and invite revelers to reveal their imagination with bold costumes, celebrating these moments with lots of joy and fun.
The entertainment program is as follows: Boa Esperança Atlético Clube Portimonense – dances on the 18th, 20th and 21st, always starting at 9.30 pm, and a matinee followed by a children’s parade on the 21st, at 3 pm, while that night there is a dance, from 21:30; Clube União Portimonense – on the 18th of February the assault will take place at 8.30 pm and on the 20th of February the dance will take place at 9.30 pm; Clube de Instrução e Recreio Mexilhoeirense – on the 19th of February there will be a dance from 9.30 pm, while a matinee is scheduled for 3 pm on the 21st of February; Sporting Glória ou Morte Portimonense – dances at 21:30 on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of February; Sociedade Recreativa Figueirense – matinee at 4 pm on February 19th and at 5:30 pm on February 21st; Sociedade Vencedora Portimonense – dances at 9.30 pm on the nights of February 18, 20 and 21; Pedra Mourinha Sports and Recreation Club – dances on the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of February at 9.30 pm; Associação Cultural e Recreativa Alvorense 1st of December – dances on the 18th, 20th and 21st of February at 9.30 pm and Associação Cultural e Desportiva Ladeira do Vau – dance on the 18th of February at 9.30 pm.
mask contest
The popular mask competitions, always scheduled for 9.30 pm, will take place on the following dates and groups: 18 February – Qualifiers at Boa Esperança, Clube União Portimonense, Glória ou Morte and Sociedade Vencedora Portimonense; February 19th – Playoffs at the Clube Desportivo e Recreativo da Pedra Mourinha and February 20th – Playoffs at Associação Cultural e Recreativa Alvorense 1º de Novembro.
As for the final, it is scheduled for the 21st of February, at 9.30 pm, at Sporting Glória ou Morte Portimonense, representing this traditional initiative a way of challenging the most revelers to stimulate their abilities in the field of creativity and cultural dynamics.
Having presented the proposals for this period, Portimão invites the community and visitors to live the carnival traditions with great revelry and joy, because – as the people say – “life is two days and Carnival is three”.