Raízes Vivas Festival moves to Portas do Sol for its second edition in Santarém

Santarém will host the second edition of the Raízes Vivas Festival on Sept. 25 and 26, bringing gastronomy, agriculture, music, crafts and traditional trades to the Portas do Sol gardens in a program centered on the identity of the Ribatejo region.

The event is being promoted by the Regional Tourism Entity of Alentejo and Ribatejo in partnership with Santarém City Hall, with support from Alentejo 2030. Organizers say the festival is designed to showcase the region through its food, farming, artisanal work, music and long-standing customs, while also opening discussion about sustainability and the future of the territory.

This year’s edition moves to Portas do Sol after the festival’s first staging last year in the riverside village of Caneiras. The new venue places the event in one of Santarém’s most visible public spaces, overlooking the Tagus River, and gives organizers room to expand several parts of the program. The festival will open at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 and at noon on Sept. 26, with concerts and entertainment scheduled to continue until 11 p.m. on both days.

A central part of the program will be food. The festival’s culinary content is being curated by chef Rodrigo Castelo of the Michelin-starred restaurant Ó Balcão in Santarém, which also holds a Michelin Green Star and two Repsol Suns. Organizers say the gastronomic program will focus on regional products, native breeds and low-waste cooking practices. In the Jardins da Gastronomia area, which is expected to hold about 2,000 people, nationally known chefs will cook alongside two associations from Ribatejo in open-air settings.

The food program is also being presented as a way to address environmental pressures affecting the region. Organizers said some dishes will use wild boar, which farmers say damages crops, as well as underused or invasive river species such as wels catfish, perch and crayfish. The idea, according to the festival’s concept, is to show how cooking can respond to ecological problems by turning them into marketable food products rather than waste.

Castelo, who conceived the festival, has described the event as an effort to protect knowledge tied to the land and to the people who work it. In statements released ahead of the event, he said gastronomy cannot be separated from producers, artisans and the local stories behind ingredients, and that the second edition is intended to put tradition and sustainability into the same conversation.

Beyond food, Raízes Vivas will devote significant space to producers and artisans. A Praça de Produtores, Artesãos & Agricultores is expected to bring together cheesemakers, beekeepers, potters, basket makers, preserve makers, olive oil producers and confectioners, among others. Hands-on sessions are also planned with artisans including blanket weavers and ceramists. The intent, organizers said, is to give visitors direct contact with techniques and products associated with Ribatejo’s cultural identity.

One part of the festival, the Rua dos Ofícios, will focus on professions connected to the bullfighting world. According to organizers, that area will feature saddle makers, tailors who make clothing for campinos, riders and bullfighters, as well as farriers and other specialists. Demonstrations are planned throughout the event as a way to document and preserve trades that organizers say are increasingly at risk of disappearing. The content is being curated by RA-RO.

Agriculture will have a separate educational role in the program. The Hortas Regenerativas area is planned as a practical space for visitors of different ages, with activities related to regenerative and organic farming, agroecology, composting, water management and the conservation of traditional seeds. Organizers said the goal is to let families and younger visitors engage directly with cultivation and better understand where food comes from, while also drawing attention to opportunities linked to rural life.

The festival will also host talks and discussions on farming and development at the Palco Futuro, an amphitheater with room for more than 100 people. Planned topics include sustainability, climate change and agricultural innovation. That portion of the program is being developed with support from the Santarém School of Agriculture and Vivid Farms.

Music and religious and equestrian traditions are also part of the schedule. The main concert venue, called the Palco Raízes Vivas, is set to present Portuguese performers and forms of traditional and popular music including cante ribatejano and fado. Organizers say the stage area can hold more than 1,400 people. On Saturday morning, a Mass is scheduled at the Church of the Holy Miracle, followed by a procession and horseback pilgrimage carrying the image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade to Portas do Sol and back to the church.

The event will also include a bullring with 1,800 seats for demonstrations, practical classes and equestrian presentations linked to tauromachic traditions. The program includes the second Grande Corrida de Toiros de Beneficência Raízes Vivas, a charitable bullfight. Organizers said proceeds from plate sales will go to three associations — Raízes Vivas, Académica de Santarém and Sociedade de Recreio e Educativa da Romeira — while revenue from the bullfight will go to the Sanctuary of the Holy Miracle.

José Manuel Santos, president of the Regional Tourism Entity of Alentejo and Ribatejo, said in a statement that the festival fits a broader strategy to raise the profile of Ribatejo as a tourism destination and strengthen the local economy through culture, agriculture and food. Santarém Mayor João Teixeira Leite said the city sees the event as a way to value local roots while presenting them in a contemporary setting.

Organizers have also set aside picnic areas with capacity for more than 400 people and three lounge zones sponsored by Águas de Santarém, Fidelidade and Caixa Crédito Agrícola. Daily tickets are priced at €10, two-day passes at €15, and admission is free for children up to age 12.