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Your Guide to Madeira Events: Festivals, Carnival, Concerts, Entertainment and Nightlife.
Madeira Festivals
Madeira hosts some fantastic festivals throughout the year, most notably February's Rio-style Carnival, the Easter Flower Festival, the month-long Atlantic music Festival in June, the Madeira wine Festival in early September and of course, the famous fireworks and decorations of Madeira's New Years' Eve celebrations.
Madeira Entertainment & Nightlife
Whether your idea of entertainment is the café, pub, dinner show, casino or disco, Madeira offers a choice of appealing venues, most based in Funchal. The Entertainment Complex at the Casino Park Hotel hosts the popular Copacabana nightclub and dinner dance shows as well as Madeira's only casino.
Other nightlife options we'd recommend include Madeira Folklore evenings - comprising music, dance and dinner; the Samba shows at the Fugitivo nightclub, dance music at Vespas and O Farol, and the The Prince Albert pub on Rua da Imperatriz Dona Amélia, which offers a taste of Victorian England.
As well as the famous Madeira wine, you should not leave the island without sampling unusual but delicious concoctions like Poncha - a mix of aguardente, freshly squeezed lemon and honey; Nikita - a blend of beer, white wine and ice cream, and Pé de Cabra cocktail. Or settle in with the famous Madeira wine or local Coral beer 'al fresco' at atmospheric venues like the Irish Pub in the Lido area, Gloria Latina and the FX bar: all great places to enjoy live music, dancing and drinks.
Madeira Events Calendar 2007
February
- Carnival celebrations
- Great Carnival Parade: End of February - from 9:00 pm onwards
- Fun Parade (People's Carnival): End of February - From at 4:00 pm onwards
April
June
September
- The Madeira Wine Festival
The Madeira Wine Festival is one of the most fascinating of the many seasonal events in Madeira. It celebrates one of the island's oldest activities.
The Madeira Wine Festival takes place in the beginning of September, during the grape harvest. The festival begins in the village of Camara de Lobos with the picking of the grapes, followed by a pickers' parade and a ceremonial treading of the grapes accompanied by traditional treading songs. In addition there are all sorts of other entertainments, such as wine tastings, food stalls, traditional competitions, bands and folk dancing.
Meanwhile in the centre of Funchal there are a variety of events celebrating the traditions of wine making, including exhibitions, wine tastings and stalls selling seasonal specialities, as well as bands and folk dancing in the main streets, Avenida Arriaga and Largo da Restauração. This is one Madeira festival you really should not miss.
- Columbus Festival in Madeira
Another important Madeira festival is the Columbus Festival, held in honour of the great navigator Christopher Columbus, who lived for a time on the island of Porto Santo.
Columbus's first contact with Madeira was in 1478, when the island was already an important centre for the sugar trade. Soon afterwards he married Doña Felipa Perestrello y Moniz, daughter of the first donee of Porto Santo, and lived for a number of years on the island. His first son, Diego, was born in Porto Santo.
The Columbus Festival is held in Vila Baleira on Porto Santo from 14 to 16 September 2006. It includes music, dancing, exhibitions and parades on the theme of Columbus's life in Madeira and his voyages to the Americas, all recalling the great age of Portuguese seafaring. The high point of the week is the re-enactment of the arrival of Columbus and his party in the harbour of Porto Santo.
November
December
- End of the year festivities.
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