about

Every year since 2014, between the end of August and the beginning of September, we open the doors to our home and gather people from all over the world in Figueira da Foz, a small coastal town in Portugal. For almost a week we share waves, boards, music, art, food and wine.

Over this time, we have transformed a peripheral coastal city in the context of national surfing, into an international focal point of classic surf culture! With collaborations with events taking place in Australia, Indonesia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, and in countless European and worldwide countries.

História

Gliding Barnacles didn’t start as an event or a festival.

It started with a community of surfers fighting for their favorite wave, called Cabedelo.

When the beach’s sandbanks were disturbed by the extension of the jetties that surround the mouth of the Mondego river, the wave was in danger. In 2009, a movement called “SOS Cabedelo” was created. The “Cidade-Surf” project was the next answer, in 2011, questioning the way urban planning looked at the relationship between the city and the ocean, and even winning the initiative promoted by the Expresso newspaper and by Millennium bcp, in the Cities category.

From this shift new proposals were born, explaining the economic importance of surf and the beach as part of the city.

Throughout the journey it became clear that the real and only answer was to share Cabedelo. But not only that! We also wanted to share our love for surfing, music, photography, cinema, painting, food and wine.

But how?

In a city known for beach tourism, we decided to create an event, involve the local population, and attract even more people.

Gliding Barnacles was born from the desire to share the beaches of Cabo do Mondego and to celebrate the culture of the Atlantic Ocean with people from all over the world.