O Gliding Barnacles is a five-day event that brings together crowds from around the world for an ode to surfing, art and music. This 9th edition will take place between September 7 and 11.
Over the past nine years, Gliding Barnacles has transformed an outlying coastal town in the national surf scene into an international focal point of classic surf culture.
“In a city known for beach tourism, but still far from the radar as a surf destination, we decided to create an event, involve the local community and attract even more people.” says Eurico Gonçalves, founder of the event. “Our desire to bring the sea closer to the city has managed to transform Figueira da Foz into a space that annually unites the four corners of the world through ocean culture, art, music and gastronomy”.
Gliding Barnacles was born from the desire to elevate Figueira da Foz and promote the culture of the Atlantic to people from all over the world, through the sharing of waves, boards, music, art, food and wine.
Surfing is not seen as a sport, but as a creative and artistic expression. In this logic, competition is replaced by non-competitive “expression sessions”. In these sessions, surfers such as Clovis Donizetti, Jules Lepecheux and Mele Saili, have the opportunity to demonstrate, in a free regime, their style, creativity and innovation, with no place for criteria such as number of waves or maneuvers as usually happens in competitions of this modality.
Music sets the pace of the event throughout the five days. During the day, the stage is set against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and the thousands of people who frequent Praia do Cabedelo. In the evening, the crowd is buzzing with a line-up of national and international artists, a mix of emerging bands and household names such as Ian Svenonious, Da Chick, El Señor, Subway Riders and Victor Torpedo and the Pop Kids. From rock to world music, indie pop, punk, jazz, electronica and Afrobeat are also featured in a truly eclectic program that is closely linked to the heterogeneity of the public that visits them.
O Gliding Barnacles also promotes a “creative hub” at the Cabedelo Beach, with a series of artistic residencies in various formats (intervention in murals, board construction, screen printing, tattooing, crafts, painting, sculpture, design, exhibitions, pottery, among others), through the invitation of local, national and international artists and artisans, such as Fiumani, Sick Faces, Leonor Cunha e Sofia Cruzto intervene in an innovative and disruptive way, in real time, inside and outside the event space.
Gastronomy also has a prominent place in this ninth edition, with a Street Food Market where emerging local projects(Filipe Soares, Rui Reigota, Pedro Peixoto) and Michelin-starred chefs(Diogo Rocha) coexist organically.
In the 2019 edition (which was not affected by the pandemic restrictions) Gliding Barnacles welcomed around 200 guests from 30 countries around the world and reached the number of approximately 1500 participants and visitors. The activities promoted at the event attracted between 2000 and 4000 people per day.
text and photos provided by the organization
