XI Cultural Week Melres e Medas

The Cultural Week of Melres e Medas is a celebration of the history and traditions of the União das freguesias de Melres e Medas, in the municipality of Gondomar, and over several days it brings the community together around music, dance, sport and local gastronomy. It is a gathering that gives voice to the artists and people of these lands, celebrating what has united them since the two parishes came together to form a single union. The festival is also connected to the devotion to Our Lady of the Assumption, the patron saint venerated here, at a time when cultural life and religious life intersect in a natural way. It is this invocation of Mary that gives meaning to a great part of the celebrations and continues to mark the calendar and identity of the community.

Tradition that Unites... Culture that Inspires 18 - Friday 19:00 — Opening ceremony (Jardim da Junta) 19:30 — Street entertainment: Cinfarra 21:00 — Amor à Corda - Guitar and voice orchestra 22:00 — Cinfarra 23:30 — DJ Simanito 19 - Saturday 14:00 — DMS Table Tennis Tournament - Pavilhão B.V. de Melres 16:00 — Soap Box Car Race Vilarinho-Alto Centro 18:00 — Book Launch 'Mais que uma medalha... A Trajetória dos Atletas Olímpicos Portugueses' 19:30 — Street entertainment: Grupo de Bombos Amigas da Terra 21:00 — Academia de Música Mell'Artes 22:00 — XXI Festival Folclórico de Melres 00:00 — DJ Rebel Sound 20 - Sunday 09:00 — Mega Spinning Class 11:00 — Music with Babies and Dads 15:30 — Parade of Drumming Groups and Giant Puppets 18:00 — XVI Traditional Music Gathering - DouroEncanto 2026 19:30 — Street entertainment: Grupo de Concertinas de Monte Córdova e Amigos 21:00 — Per MeloDiam 22:00 — Curt&Grosso Ensemble 21 - Monday All day — Walnut Fair 16:00 — Senior University Opening Session 21:00 — Closing Ceremony: Locus - Pt Dance Academy 25 - Friday 19:30 — Dance Festival 20:00 — Street entertainment: Grupo de Bombos de Melres 23:30 — DJ Flow 26 - Saturday 09:00 — Futsal Tournament - Polidesportivo de Melres 20:00 — Street entertainment: Circus Arts - Acgitar 22:00 — Concert Banda de Melres / Sonic Ember 23:30 — DJ Nuno Paiva 27 - Sunday 07:30 — Medas Airsoft Game 09:00 — Confraria Caldo de Nabos - VI Capítulo 09:30 — Hike to the Cu Grande Swing 10:30 — Inflatable Water Games and Foam 11:00 — Hot Air Balloon Ascent 15:00 — Jet Ski for the Blind 16:00 — Parachutist Drop 19:30 — Street entertainment: Grupo de Bombos os Bombeiros 20:30 — Recognition Ceremony and presentation of Mementos to the Associations 22:00 — Concert Quim Barreiros Tasquinhas - Gastronomy - Dance - Culture

Nestled along the Douro, the Parish Union of Melres e Medas, in the municipality of Gondomar, is a riverside land through and through, where the great river is a presence, a companion and the thread that stitches together the landscape and the lives of its people. Two localities with a strong historical character, proud of their roots and generous to those who arrive, preserving a past that can be read in the stones and pathways. Among the heritage highlights are the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Chapel dos Passos, places of faith and memory to be discovered at leisure. And there is the table, which speaks the language of the river: shad and lamprey, seasonal delicacies prepared with the knowledge of the elders. A corner of Gondomar that deserves to be known slowly.