Vila Franca do Campo is still celebrating and getting ready for the biggest weekend of festivities. The last of four nights is dedicated to youth and the parades of the São João Popular Marches, which will take place tomorrow night and Monday, a municipal holiday.
So, after Nuno Ribeiro, Oruam, Quim das Remisturas, The Code, and Furnas performed on Friday, the third youth night, at the festival grounds, located next to the Rotunda dos Frades, this Saturday, starting at 9pm, Hybrid Theory, Julinho KSD, Crossfaith, Dupla Mete Cá Sets and Az Kicker are scheduled to perform. A little earlier, at 6pm, the concentration will be on Avenida Vasco da Silva (next to the fishing port), with the Summer Ride 2024 event.
Tomorrow, June 23rd, at 7:30 p.m., the “arraial popular” will open, and the São João da Vila marches will gather near the Rotunda dos Frades. At 8.40pm, the Charanga of the Vila Franca do Campo Volunteer Fire Brigade kicks off the ceremony, followed by the São João da Vila Anthem, played by the Banda União Progressista.
These two moments symbolically herald the great parade of the 2024 São João da Vila Popular Marches, which will be recorded by RTP/Açores and broadcast at a later date. It will also be broadcast live on the Vila Franca do Campo Town Council’s Facebook page.
After the parade of the 17 marches, including the Marcha dos Emigrantes and the Marcha Vila do Porto (Santa Maria), there will be, as in previous years, an arraial in Largo Bento de Góis, with performances by Nuno Ventura, Romeu Bairos and Banda Larga Açores, and the traditional dawn, with a 21-gun salute and the Hymn of São João da Vila by the Banda União Progressista, is scheduled for 6am, next to the Town Hall.
On June 24th, a municipal holiday, at 6pm, there is mass at the Chapel of São João, located in the parish of Ribeira Seca. From 8pm, the “popular festival” begins, with the São João da Vila marches gathering at the same time near the Rotunda dos Frades.
A little before 9pm, the São João da Vila Anthem is played by the Banda Lealdade, and at 9pm, the parade of the 2024 São João da Vila Popular Marches begins. Once the parade is over, there will be a “popular festival” on the festival grounds, at the Rotunda dos Frades, with entertainment by David Rita and Jaime Goth.

in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.