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Dear friends! For the fourth consecutive year, Seia hosts the International Song Festival of Serra da Estrela. Four editions in four years mean, on the one hand, the rooting of this project and its insertion in the local ambience; on the other hand, the stabilization of a Festival that, without any intention of profit, has had a positive impact (the three previous editions already allow to affirm it) in the cultural life of the interior of the country. The Festival has already brought to Seia competitors from two dozen countries and, of course, the participation of many Portuguese, from various parts of the country (such as Madeira). This year, there are two countries – Hungary and Mexico – that join for the first time to this authentic "concert of the nations"... |
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Although the Festival's competitors are mostly young, they are always accompanied on these occasions by parents, relatives, teachers, friends. Apart from the cultural and recreational visits (museums, promenades, etc.), the several rounds of FICSE take place in the Municipal Cinema of Seia, culminating with the Grand Final on Saturday 25th August, at 16.00. Each year, every edition, there are new brands and companies that become part of the supporters of this initiative, which is a proof of the interplay of the event with the social tissue of the region and the commercial dynamics that the Festival generates. This year, a word of recognition and gratitude to Belaserra, to Evaristo Nogueira School, to Seia Karate Club, to Bee Creative, to Dicas & Pistas and to Marques Transports, which reinforce an area in which already cohabit Crédito Agrícola, Museu do Pão, Grupo BEL, Interbeiras travel agency, Visabeira and Fraga, Matias and Lagos (three cheese companies). Also at an institutional level, the Festival is stabilized. A permanent thankful word for the confidence shown by Seia's Town Hall, Union of Parishes of Seia, São Romão and Lapa dos Dinheiros, Seia Municipal Assembly and Tourism of the Centre of Portugal. The support of these entities is decisive for the realization of this project. All the supports, from the largest to the smallest, contribute to the collective realization that FICSE constitutes – and that makes that around two hundred visitors to renew themselves, year after year, on this journey towards Seia, heart of Serra da Estrela! Nuno Figueira Director of the Festival |
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Seia continues scoring points in the world of the international song festivals. It is therefore with great satisfaction that we start with the fourth edition of the International Song Festival of Serra da Estrela, an initiative that honors the county and the region. To the young talents who visit us for the first time, to those who repeat their coming here and, in particular, to the significant number of participants from Seia, I wish a fruitful and enriching journey. Above everything, the international context of the event is also an opportunity for cultural exchanges – exchange of experiences and personal enrichment. This is also an opportunity to know the charm of Serra da Estrela, the largest national protected area, ambassador of a unique natural and landscape heritage, an environmental context of excellence in which the Municipality of Seia is inserted. |
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In this way we renew the invitation so that our visitors can experiment the conditions of excellence that the Council has: bathing, leisure, recreation and enjoyment of nature, through a vast net of river beaches, more than 100 km of paths pedestrians and cycling routes. Also in the culture, through a diversified network of equipment, where the Museu do Brinquedo ("Toy Museum"), the Museu da Electricidade ("Natural Electricity Museum"), the Museu do Pão ("Museum of Bread") and, in a more interpretive aspect, the CISE ("Interpretation Centre of Serra da Estrela"), gastronomy , with special emphasis on Serra da Estrela Cheese, Seia's Requeijão, Pão de Centeio, Broa and Bolo Negro de Loriga, Sausages and Cabrito Serrano, and a lot of cultural, sportive and social initiatives are reasons for a visit in the four seasons of the year. A word of appreciation to the organization of the Festival and to all the partners who join the initiative, which allow us to continue to present in Seia a show of great quality and artistic creativity of young talents, for which I invite the whole community. The Mayor of Seia
Filipe Camelo |
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