XV Folklore Meeting of Machico

Machico hosts the 15th edition of its Folklore Meeting (Encontro de Folclore), an evening dedicated to Madeira's traditional music, dance and costume. Now in its fifteenth year, the gathering has become a fixture on the town's cultural calendar, bringing folk groups together to share the island's rural heritage with locals and visitors alike.

Madeiran folklore draws on centuries of island tradition, built around group dances, hand-embroidered regional costumes and instruments such as the braguinha and rajão — small string instruments unique to the archipelago. Events like this one keep that heritage visible and alive, offering a rare chance to experience it up close rather than in a museum display.

The evening takes place in Machico, on Madeira's east coast, and is supported by the Junta de Freguesia de Machico — a good way to round off an August evening in town before heading to Machico's restaurants and waterfront.