We are taking great strides towards Christmas. As in other years, Funchal is once again dressing up to host this season.
This morning, during the presentation of the Christmas Festival program of the Municipality of Funchal, which took place in the CMF’s Noble Hall, Cristina Pedra announced that among the main attractions this year are the natural ice rink, Aldeia Natal, Natal na Praça, Noite do Mercado, New Year’s Eve Concert, among other initiatives that will certainly help to liven up the city center at this time of year.
The vice-president of the Funchal City Council revealed that the festivities will start next Thursday, with one of this year’s new features ‘The Magic of Christmas at the Market’, which will take place, from 8pm, at the Mercado dos Farmers.
One of the new features this year is the natural ice rink that will be set up at Almirante Reis, which is scheduled to open on Sunday, November 26th. It will be open from 3pm to 10pm.
As for Aldeia Natal, which returns to Praça do Município and which will be inaugurated on Saturday, November 25th, 42 days of entertainment are planned.
“We increased another 12 days at the request of schools that want to carry out their recreational-pedagogical activities”, he explained, adding that this docking will include the train, with “specific hours for walking”.
During the first three Sundays of December, there will be ‘Christmas in the Square’, at Mercado dos Lavradores. Initiative, which takes place from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm and in which the CMF “supports small entrepreneurs again”.
“We already have more than 100 registrations for the three Sundays”, he said.
An ‘Ecological Nativity Scene’ will be set up in the lobby of the Funchal municipality, which was designed using waste materials, which can be seen from December 5th to January 5th, between 9:00 am and 5:30 pm. This is an activity of the CMF Environment department with primary schools.
The Funchal Municipality’s Christmas Parties program also includes ‘Christmas Tables with Madeira Embroidery’, between December 13th and January 7th, in the Noble Hall of the Baltazar Duas Theatre. And also the Christmas musical comedy ‘A Viagem das Rainhas Gras’. An initiative by the culture department, which will take place from the 14th to the 17th of December.
Also noteworthy is the ‘Market Night’, which takes place on December 23rd, details of which will be given closer to the date.
Another new feature this year is ‘After Christmas Carols’, taking place on December 29th, at 10am, at the Funchal Cultural and Research Center (CCIF). This is a concert with the Funchal Jazz Orchestra “in a big band format”, whose music promises to infect the public with lots of ‘swing’.
On December 31st, from 6pm to 2am, the ‘End of Year Concert’ takes place at Parque de Santa Catarina. A show that will be open to the entire population and will feature artists such as Buzico, Sandra & Ricardo, Vasco Freitas e Galáxia, Miguel Pires and DJ Sérgio Soares.
Cristina Pedra invited everyone to join the Christmas Parties in the Municipality of Funchal.
The president of the CMF, Pedro Calado, said that this “event is only successful if we can make it reach people”. And, in this sense, he took the opportunity to thank his partners, namely DIÁRIO de Notícias da Madeira in their respective “disclosure”.
Without giving figures, the mayor said that, in this year’s edition, the CMF invested “a few hundred thousand euros”
Having ‘set’ the scene for 16 days of celebration, Pedro Calado has no doubt that “you don’t experience Christmas anywhere else in the world like Funchal”.