Easter in the Algarve is often a gentle affair – and the first Easter fair to be held in Ferragudo reflects this – it’s full of homemade goods and crafts and pretty gifts.

The ‘Mercadinho de Páscoa’ can be found lining the main streets off the square in Ferragudo, along the Rua 25 de Abril, the Largo Rainha D. Leonor and the Rua Vasco da Gama. You can’t miss it – look out for the coloured balloons and the ‘road closed’ signs!

The streets have lots of pretty little stalls – it’s not a huge fair, but the more that you wander round – the more you can enjoy it.

And the stall-holders have done a lovely job of decorating their little wooden stands:

There is a wide range of gifts and products for sale, ranging from plants and jewellery …

To ceramics and pottery …

But we didn’t notice some of the cheeky items for sale on this stall above until we came home to edit the photographs!

There is a lovely home-made uniqueness to many of the items for sale – like these beautifully crafted bags and purses:

And there is plenty for children to enjoy too!

My favourite was the fabulous pink and white little number top left in this picture below – how cute is that?!

There were also some decorative and pretty notebooks for sale on one of the stalls:

As Dave was busy today, I was ably assisted by our ‘photographer’s assistant’s assistant’ .. our little Spanish water dog, who sat patiently beside me whilst I snapped away .. but more about what she got up to later!

Some of the stalls had a real mixed selection of items for sale – with lots of items to sift through!

And of course it wouldn’t be Easter without cake! Spot the traditional ‘Folar’ cake in the front of this shot below – there are various recipes and styles which can range from making it with bread to having a sweet cake mixture – but they all seem to involve having a boiled egg hidden in there somewhere!

There are lots of regional and local products for sale – including cakes, jams and liqueurs:

And of course you can find some traditional lace and crochet items too:

love the sign!

Good to see the local and innovative Saboreal products on sale too:

And even more hand-crafted jewellery and trinkets:

Our favourite stand was this colourful number – how cute are those toilet-roll holders?!

There’s even live music to entertain you as you wander around – today was the turn of a group of young lads creating some good sounds! Tomorrow and Saturday is the turn of our friend Cory Sea with his blend of easy-listening jazz from 1pm – 3pm.

If you can find a leaflet – or click here for the event’s Facebook page with all the information you need to know – there are several local cafés and restaurants that are offering either free desserts with a main course, or discounts on food or drinks during the fair – which runs again tomorrow Friday 25th and Saturday 26th March. We have absolutely no idea what time it starts and finishes each day though – the posters missed that bit of information out!

And we promised to let you know what our little dog got up to .. well she took a shine to a cuddly dolphin toy (thank you to the lovely shop off the main square for this one!) and she then proudly trotted all through the streets back to our car carrying it without dropping it once .. so if you were there today – you might well have spotted a very proud and happy little dog trotting through the town looking a bit like this!

If you are in the area in the next couple of days – enjoy the fair – and wherever you are – and whatever you are planning – have a lovely Easter … Feliz Páscoa!