Christmas market with a Portuguese flavor

The Christmas market at Albergue SCM kicked off on Saturday, featuring 30 booths that offered Portuguese gourmet products, festive snacks and hand-
made children’s toys.

Co-organized by Albergue SCM and Rena Plus (Macau) Ltd, the Christmas market aimed to promote Portuguese products to locals and tourists alike.

The stalls at the event offered tastings of Portuguese gourmet food such as dried fruit, jams, honey, cheese, cookies, chocolate, olive oil, canned fish and wine.

Ana Maria de Senna Fernandes, project manager at Rena Plus, told the Times yesterday that the bazaar is different from the government’s Christmas market in Tap Seac, which commences today.

Fernandes noted that the bazaar was also held in a bid to promote Albuergue as a tourist attraction and she emphasized that Portuguese merchandises was the main offering of the fair.

Many of the products available at the market have been made in Portugal.

“We would like to promote Portuguese products. That is our main goal. [There] are around 15 tables [featuring] Portuguese wine, cookies [and] rugs,” she said in a phone interview.

Market stall holders are required to pay a registration fee of MOP100 per day.

Although the Portuguese-themed Christmas market’s aim is to offer Portuguese products, some local associations and businesses are also offering several of their own products.

Platform Art, a community that promotes art, is present at Albergue, offering painting activities for children.

Cristina Lao, a volunteer said that the number of participants at the art booth has already exceeded the firm’s expectations.

“There were 20 to 30 kids staying here for drawing just this afternoon. It’s really out of [our] expectation,” she said.

According to Lao, such a bazaar is a vital place for the firm to promote its products and offerings.

She added that the art industry in the region is looking forward to the government’s assistance its promotion.

“As I’ve heard, in the next coming years, they [the government] will put more effort into [promoting the] arts. It will be good for us,” she concluded.

The Christmas market at Albergue SCM courtyard will be held on December 24 and 25. It will be open from midday to 9:30 p.m.