Carnival in Madeira offers you a variety of activities to choose from, with the option of integrating them as a simple spectator, or as an active participant. In Madeira, the carnival season is lived in a constant festive atmosphere. Whether in initiatives of an official nature, or in those of a more spontaneous nature, rooted in the Madeiran tradition, joy and good humor prevail in the streets, in entertainment establishments and in private homes. The colorful and lively allegorical procession takes thousands of tourists and residents to the center of Funchal to attend it. This is the main attraction of the Madeira Carnival Parties. More than a thousand revelers in showy costumes participate in it, and a dozen exquisitely decorated floats. The music opens the procession: the colorful joy and the rhythm of the costumed troupes have the gift of spreading. All parade with enthusiasm to the sound of selected songs, with choreographies trained throughout the year, making their joy overflow to the public. The Trapalhão Procession, held on Tuesday of Carnival, represents the procession that was previously done, spontaneously, in Rua da Carreira. Participation is open to all, national and foreign, and can be done individually or in groups. The creativity of the participants has no limits and ranges from social and political satire, to traditional paintings, to the simple disguise of characterization. Whether you watch or participate in this procession, you will undoubtedly be able to share moments of good humor and interaction with the public.

The count of days to set the carnival date each year begins with Easter. To calculate that date, you need to know what equinox is.

With a complicated name, equinox occurs twice a year, when day and night are exactly the same duration: 12 hours each. And it happens, first, around the 20th of March of each year. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the autumn equinox, and in the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox. In September, it occurs again between the 22nd and 23rd, reversing the season in each hemisphere.

The Catholic Church determined that every year Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the March equinox.

Seven days before Easter, Palm Sunday is celebrated in the Catholic Church, which opens Holy Week. And exactly 40 days before Palm Sunday, it is Carnival Tuesday. In other words: Carnival is celebrated 47 days before Easter

The Regional Government decided to postpone until September 2020 the Flower Festival, scheduled for the month of May. A decision that happens due to the circumstances resulting from the Covid-19 world pandemic.

The Flower Festival is a tribute to Spring, and the celebration of metamorphosis and rebirth, fertility and the abundance of flowers that paint, scent and inebriate the environment that lend value and carry the good name of this tourist destination across borders. Find out more about what to expect at the Madeira Flower Festival, which will take place this year from 3 to 27 September 2020.

The Flower Festival, in addition to the tribute to flowers, is also a cultural event, since, associated with the event, tradition stands out, whether through the performances of folk groups, either through the construction of beautiful floral carpets and through animation with musical concerts and variety shows.

WALL OF HOPE:

The Children's Parade, in which thousands of children, dressed in precepts, parade up to Praça do Município to compose a beautiful flower mural symbolically called “Muro da Hope ”.

This initiative, which has been taking place for more than three decades, combines childlike simplicity with the delicacy of flowers, in a ceremony that aims to appeal to peace in the world. Each child takes a flower and the ceremony usually culminates with a pigeon launch and a children's show.

ALLEGORIC CORTEJO:

The streets of downtown Funchal are once again invaded by music, color and soft perfumes with the sumptuous parade of floats that harmoniously combine multiple floral species with decorations full of creativity. This is the Allegorical Flower Parade, one of the most remarkable and most awaited events of the entire event, whether by visitors or residents, which has been held since 1979.

The Atlantic Festival, an event that marks the beginning of the summer season in Madeira, is one of the most recent tourist entertainment events.
The 2020 edition has been canceled , a decision that comes about due to the circumstances resulting from the Covid-19 world pandemic.

This event consists of a diverse set of cultural initiatives distributed throughout the month of June, including the pyromusical shows, the Raízes do Atlântico Festival and the Regional Week of the Arts.

SATURDAYS:
Pyromusical shows take place on four Saturdays in the month of June, at 10:30 pm, on the outside jetty of Pontinha. These wonderful and exciting shows, lasting approximately 20 minutes each, combine fireworks and music in a unique experience for visitors and residents.
These shows put companies in competition for a trophy awarded by public vote, via the Internet and tombolas placed in strategic locations in the city of Funchal (Pier of the city - day of the show, La Vie, Marina Shopping and Turismo).

The city of Machico promotes the Quinhentista Market, an event that recreates the historical period of the discovery of the Madeira archipelago and that has conquered a status of cultural relevance.

Organized by the Machico City Council, in partnership with the Machico Basic and Secondary School, this initiative takes place in Largo da Praça, at Alameda Dr. José António de Almada , in the city center, and offers a range of cultural and musical activities.

Through the historical recreation of the collective experiences of the captaincy of Machico in the early years of Quinhentos , we intend to raise awareness for the defense of our identity cultural, valuing it in the context of the Portuguese historical heritage.

Machico thus demonstrates his entrepreneurial spirit and the pioneering character that lives up to history. In the same way that it was in Machico Bay that the first Portuguese ships docked, that Zarco and Tristão Vaz set foot on island land for the first time, that the first mass was said, the first church on the island was built and the first captaincy of the Kingdom was established. , it is in Machico that the present is challenged and invested in historic tourism.

THEMATIC EXHIBITIONS:

Within the scope of the project, several presentation exhibitions are held in shopping centers in Funchal and at Madeira Airport. The thematic exhibitions "A Casa de Tristão", "Navegantes Quinhentistas" and "Heirs of the Captains of the Donatory" stand out.