The Feast of the Lord of Matosinhos is a highlight among the pilgrimages of the municipality and the north of the country, and has acquired a new dynamic with the remarkable accessibility that Matosinhos has been endowed with.
It takes place during the months of May and June and lasts for three weeks of religious festivities and recreational, cultural and sporting activities. Thousands of lights illuminate the festival grounds and the Church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, whose altars are artistically decorated with beautiful flowers. In the church, the work of Nasoni, sermons and masses are said, both festive and solemn, and a great procession takes place to the Senhor do Padrão.
Music bands liven up the streets and traditional kiosks, crafts are exhibited, legends and traditions are recalled, the Inventory of the Architectural and Religious Heritage of Matosinhos is shown or, as a festival, gastronomic recipes of fish and seafood are made known.
Between the puppet show on Tuesday afternoon and the splendid fireworks on Saturday night, there is table football, merry-go-rounds and bumper cars, grilled sardines and caldo verde or, the ultimate way to enjoy the party, buying traditional tableware at the stalls of the Feira da Louça.