FIFCA Portugal- Festival Internacional de Folclore Culturas e Artes PORTUGAL

Our Festival is growing day by day. And It's an outstanding pleausure receiving Kirjavat in Almeirim Kirjavat is a Finnish folk dance group, which consists of young adult dancers aged between 16 and 20 years. The group has been founded in 1995, and many of us have danced since we were very young. The director of the group is Merja Skyttä. Kirjavat comes from the city of Lappeenranta which lies near the Russian border and about 300 km NE from Finland’s capital city Helsinki. Lappeenranta is also located on the shore of the biggest lake in Finland, Saimaa Kirjavat has travelled around Finland during the years and taken part in various national and regional folk dance festivals and competitions in which we have been very successful and awarded many times. The group has been classified in the silver category in 2000 and 2002 and in the gold category in 2004 in the National Children and Youngsters’ Classification. In March 2007 Kirjavat was classified in the second best category in the

As 4 freguesias do concelho Almeirim, Fazendas de Almeirim, Benfica do Ribatejo (a freguesia anfitriã) e Raposa deram as mãos no apoio ao Festival. A mobilização é geral e a expectativa sobe à medida que nos aproximamos do mês de Abril. Este ano, o 25 de Abril vai ser vivido de forma revoluncionária. As pessoas vão sair às ruas para assinalar a data, conviver em liberdade com outros povos, contactar com outras culturas e crescer como cidadãos do mundo. Seja em Almeirim, na Tapada ou Paço dos Negros, em Benfica, Foros ou Raposa, todo o concelho vai ouvir outros sons, outras línguas, vai partilhar o seu mundo com outros mundos e receber da forma que só os almeirinenses sabem fazer...EM GRANDE

We are very pleased with the presence of English Miscellany. Looking forward to see you all in Ribatejo, Portugal. «We dance, play and sing because we enjoy it! England has a rich tradition of folk dance and music, rooted deep in the past but still living in the present and changing into the future. We want to share our enjoyment of all this with others, both with visitors from overseas who are interested in England, and at home with anyone who appreciates this intrinsic part of our culture. Our group is different from most folk groups in that we perform a wide range of dance forms. Most of our shows involve all five of our sections. So, in 30 minutes you might see us in couples dancing a lively country dance in a Victorian costume, in a group wearing clogs stepping out a virtuoso Northern step dance, in a team clashing sticks and ringing bells in a Cotswold Morris dance, or wearing bright red sashes and whirling slings in a rousing North-west Morris dance, or singing an old English so

Depois das Juntas de Freguesia e dos Grupos Folclóricos do concelho convidados terem decidido apoiar e participar na concretização da primeira edição do Festival Internacional de Folclore de Benfica do Ribatejo, a Câmara Municipal de Almeirim manifestou interesse e disponibilidade para ser uma parceira activa nos bastidores do Festival. Logística, dinâmica, divulgação são três possibilidades tornadas realidades agora com a entrada da autarquia como parceira. Em troca, é exigido profissionalismo, rigor e cultura de qualidade. Objectivos elevados colocados em patamares ainda mais elevados anos mas que são um estímulo para o Secretariado e todos os seus parceiros. Esperem por nós!...vamos fazer um GRANDE FESTIVAL!

The Secretariado of the International Folklore Festival of Benfica do Ribatejo are very pleased to welcome the Cultural Centre of EFKARPIA "Thessaloniki - Hellas"