Vale da Telha will in July host a new headline event which it is hoped will become the area’s most sought-after annual social function, the highlight of the community calendar.

The Summer Ball, or Gala de Verao, will take place in the elegant marquee at the poolside of the Vale da Telha Hotel on Saturday July 21^st, from 7.30pm until late.

As you can see from the surrounding photographs the setting is colourful and spacious, a perfect venue for what should be a sophisticated summer evening.

The event has grown from a suggestion from one of the lady residents on Vale da Telha.

She and her friends missed, she said, the opportunity to enjoy a quality evening out for which they could dress in their finest frocks and dance in stylish surroundings.

Amovate’s committee took this suggestion on board as part of their Amovate in the Community project to support local businesses—holding events not in the Old Schoolhouse, but on the premises of those businesses.

Bruno at the Hotel was delighted when we approached him with a request to view the facilities provided by his Moorish-style marquee—and even more delighted when we proposed to him that we should stage the Summer Ball there.

A specialist caterer will prepare and present the cold buffet and Bruno will provide the bar facilities inside the marquee, promising to keep prices broadly representative of the prices residents are used to paying in the bars around Vale da Telha.

Guests will have the opportunity to sit at tables around the dance floor, but also to wander outside and relax in the seating provided on the decking surrounding the appealing pool area.

 

The intention is that this should grow into an annual event, so of course, the more support we get from the local community, from residents of all nationalities, the more likely it is that we can get such a momentum going.

The music for dancing on the 21^stwill be provided by the New Orleans Jazz Band, whose details you can find below. They will be supported by Vale da Telha’s own Luis Pinto who has proved popular at the Music Festival as well as at the Piranha and the Vale da Telha restaurant.

The ticket price is just €10 per head, which includes the cold buffet, and you can obtain your tickets from any of the Amovate Committee members whose names you will find listed below.

You can also pop into the Amovate office at the Old School House each Tuesday afternoon from 2-4pm and Friday from 4-6pm and buy them from the committee member on duty.

We do stress that the dress code for the Summer Ball is smart-casual, with the ladies elegant in their frocks, the men stylishly dressed in trousers and shirts—no shorts or jeans please!

So, let’s all make the effort to parade at our poshest on this one night of the year at least!

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Peter Johnson, Ian Bedford, Sue Bedford, Ken Cragg, Rick Hursthouse, John Bergstrom-Potter, Maria Franca, Dave Ogborn, Matt D’Arcy.

THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND

The New Orleans Jazz Band was formed in 1998 by a group of international jazz musicians, all now living in the Algarve.

With musicians from England, Scotland, Holland, and Portugal, they quickly became established as the premiere group playing Dixieland and New Orleans style jazz music from the 1920’s in the area.

In 1999 the band was first featured at the Loule International Jazz Festival followed by a concert tour taking in all the major cities of Portugal, culminating at the prestigious Lisboa concert hall “Cultergest”.

Since then the band has quickly become the busiest band on the Algarve playing music for listening and dancing throughout the region. The band is regularly featured at Festivals, whether parading around the streets as part of the Lagos Jazz Festival or at Vilamoura Marina to promote the “Boat Show”. They can also be heard at the “Arte Viva” summer festival at Museu do Trajo, Sao Bras de Alportel.

International jazz musicians visiting the Algarve, are regularly featured with the band and in 2004 Mr. Acker Bilk, whose hit tune “Stranger on the Shore” can be heard as canned music in hotel lounges worldwide, toured with the band on his first visit to Portugal.

The current line-up is Dave Lawson (clarinet/saxophones), John Ballinger (trombone/vocals), Paul Mitchell-Davidson (guitar/banjo), Han Wezanaar (clarinet/baritone saxophone), and Tony Scriven (drums/leader/vocals).

Continuing the New Orleans tradition of playing a mixture of Blues, Stomps, Marches, Spirituals and Ragtime numbers, the band guarantees the listeners/dancers an evening of excitement and nostalgia.

(Photos of the event at the foot of the page – remember to double click on the photo and it will present itself in a larger size)

They were dancing until the wee small hours at the Taska do Karisma on Saturday night.

The Chicken & Chips night launched our “Amovate In The Community” project aimed at supporting local businesses in these difficult economic times.

And first off we acknowledge that there were teething problems with some people having to wait an unacceptable length of time for their food, despite the best efforts of everyone concerned in running the event.

We hold up our hands—Mea Culpa!

Karisma owner Antonio was quickly on Facebook early on Sunday morning, writing (Google translation):

“We have finished the today event held in conjunction with the AMOVATE. (Association of Residents and Friends of Vale da Telha).

“In all it was a great night and a night full of joy and fun. I would first of all like to thank all the elements of Amovate who made this event possible through their effort, dedication and understanding.

“Once again, I thank everyone that visited us and I hope everything has gone for the best.

“I appreciate the expressions of thanks for the things that went well, and we will try to learn from the failures and the few things have gone less well. I think we need to acknowledge that there were a few “teething” problems, but that we will try and learn from these.”

But for all that, Amovate hope the 120 or more people who attended thoroughly enjoyed the event despite those problems and we think everyone agreed that the food, whether it arrived on time or a little late, was excellent.

Val, Steve and Antonio worked tirelessly and long to do their best to ensure the success of this ground-breaking event as we prepare for more events out and about in the community.

The evening began at 4pm and at 2am partygoers were still dancing to the music provided by the seemingly inexhaustible record collection of DJ Brian “The Beat” Jutsum.

The weather was kind, the rain holding off, and the atmosphere on Antonio’s terrace was terrifically upbeat under the cover of Amovate’s two large gazebos.

Lessons will be learned, but the main lesson we learned was that the people of Vale da Telha, residents of all nationalities, will turn out in large numbers if we work together to support the community.

A big thank you to Antonio and his staff, Val & Steve, Brian “The Beat” and all helpers who contributed to the success of the evening.

With that in mind, here are some more dates for your diary:

23rd June: Summer Solstice sunset event at the Por Do Sol, Arrifana.

21st July: Summer Ball formal event with the New Orleans Jazz Band at the Hotel Marquee.

4th August: Bob & Ogy’s Fun Day at the Old School House.

25th August: Vale da Telha Music Festival, Old School House.

15th September: Party Night at the Piranha Bar.

October: Portuguese Night (date to be confirmed) at the VDT Restaurant.

Around Wednesday Oct 31 (date tbc): Bob & Ogy’s Halloween Night at the Old School House.

December (date tbc): Bob & Ogy’s Christmas Grotto, at the Old School House.