The AigraCultura event will take place in the Aldeia do Xisto of Aigra Nova, on 27
August, which will be a unique opportunity for all of those who want to live for a day in the village, feel its spirit, traditions and welcome, as we provide visitors a different day in the middle of the Serra da Lousã, with a set of cultural and leisure activities .
Programme:
- Opening event: 9am
- Photo-safari start: 9.30am (prior registration required)
- Traditional Schist Museum (Ecomuseu Tradições do Xisto) Visits: 9.45am
- Broa bread workshop: 10.45am
- Field sound recording workshop: 11am (4 persons max.) (prior registration)
- necessary)
- Donkey rides: 11.30am
- Bonsai initiation workshop: 11.45am
- Tasquinha and Tapas: from 12pm
- Concerto with eyes blindfolded /Xisto Sonoro: 3pm
- Donkey rides: 3.30pm
- Bonsai initiation workshop: 3.45pm
- Field sound recording workshop: 4.45pm (4 persons max.) (prior registration)
- necessary)
- Broa bread workshop: 5.30pm
- Photo-safari final: 5.30pm
- Radioactive Rabbit Concert: 7pm
- Photo-safari prize giving: 9pm
- Radioactive Rabbit Concert & Favela Discos: 10pm
Permanent attractions:
• Lousitânea Welcome Center • Tavern and tapas • motherland space • “People and the Environment (o Meio e a Gente)” photo exhibition , by Tiago Cerveira • bonsai exhibition
Description of activities:
Broa cornbread Workshop - Participants have the opportunity to take part in the process of making homemade broa cornbread, wheat and rye bread, in a “do-it-yourself, hands-on” format. After cooking this, in a traditional wood-fired oven, participants will have the opportunity to taste the result of their teamwork.
Donkey Rides - In cooperation with AEPGA, Lousitânea founded the
Aldeias do Xisto Donkey Centre, which has 2 magnificent Mirandesa breed donkeys. In this activity children will be able to ride the donkeys in their packs and get to know some nooks and crannies of Aigra Nova in a different way , in the Serra da Lousã, spending pleasant moments in contact with these animals during a short walk.
Field Sound Recording Workshop - introductory workshop on field sound recording in the village of Aigra Nova, providing participants with some of the theoretical and practical foundations of this world. Soundwalk through the village and recording of its soundscapes.
Blindfolded Concert /Xisto Sonoro - Concert for the Eyes
Vendados/Xisto Sonoro is based on some of the soundscapes and landmarks of the Aldeias do Xisto, using sound field recordings made between 2009 and 2014. The villages were visited searching for their characteristic sounds, their sound landmarks, the sounds that define and distinguish them from other villages in the rural context of contemporary Portugal and all this is presented in a concert, in a public event, with people and for people who, together with the sounds of these villages, have contributed to the unique identities of these 27 Portuguese villages.
“People and the Environment (o Meio e a Gente)” photo exhibition by Tiago Cerveira - Tiago Cerveira documents, through photography and video, the immaterial and material heritage of the Portuguese Beira Serra . The dichotomy that gives the name to the project of this photographer, director and documentary maker - People and the Environment - is intrinsically linked to the identity aspects and characteristics of this region of the country.
Bonsai Exhibition and Workshop – As part of the Tree Nursery, we have created this exhibition, where we will present a set of trees from the national flora that has been worked on over time using Bonsai techniques. This has been possible through the collaboration of Afonso Sousa, who is responsible for the Bonsai Academy in Aveiro, and who will provide us with his knowledge and tips. The Bonsai workshop will cover topics such as controlling the growth of the trees, soil preparation, adaptation and mixing with native flora and
cultivation techniques.
Radioactive Rabbit Concert - João Sarnadas, better known in the artistic world as Radioactive Rabbit, is for the first time giving a solo concert, in the Aldeia do Xisto of Aigra Nova. For the artist his melodies “...are songs made at night, so they can carry the weight of days. And recorded in the morning, to have the freshness of the night”, which is not to be missed on the Eira stage, overlooking the serra da Lousã.