- Avante! Festival
Every year, in the first weekend of September (since 1976) the
Avante! Festival (Portuguese: Festa do Avante!) is held named after the official newspaper of thePortuguese Communist Party . After taking part in different locations aroundLisbon , like the FIL Park,Ajuda orLoures , it is now carried out in Amora, a town nearSeixal in a ground bought by the Party after a massive fundraising campaign in the early 90s. The campaign was considered by the Party as the only way to avoid the boycott organised by the owners of the previous festivals grounds, that culminated in 1987 with the festival not being carried out after 11 editions. The festival is usually visited and participated in by hundreds of thousands of people, making the outside of the ground seem a gigantic camping park. The party itself consists of a three day festival of music, with the participation of hundreds of Portuguese and international bands and artists in five different stages, ethnography, gastronomy, debates, a book & music fair, theatre ("Avanteatro") and sporting events. Several foreign communist parties also participate.In 28 editions, the Festival counted with the presence of several famous artists, either Portuguese or foreign, like
Chico Buarque , Baden Powell,Ivan Lins ,Zeca Afonso ,Buffy Sainte-Marie ,Holly Near , Johnny Clegg,Charlie Haden ,Judy Collins ,Richie Havens ,Tom Paxton , The Soviet Circus Company, theKuban Cossacks Choir,Dexys Midnight Runners ,The Band ,Hevia ,Adriano Correia de Oliveira ,Carlos Paredes ,Jorge Palma ,Manoel de Oliveira and many others.The preparation of the party begins right after the end of the previous party. Hundreds of the party's members and friends, mostly young people, volunteer for the hard work of building a small town in a few months.
Gallery of posters
External links
* [http://www.pcp.pt/actpol/temas/f-avante/festa/index.htm Avante! Festival main website]
* [http://www.pcp.pt/actpol/temas/f-avante/festa/artistas.htm List of the artists present in the 27 editions of the Festival]
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