Gourmets and gastronauts visiting Southern Portugal this week will surely not want to miss the Festival do Marisco or Shellfish Festival, which takes place in Olhao from the 10th to the 15th of August 2010. This is the 25th year the the town has played host to this celebration of the region's rich heritage of everything to do with seafood.

Taking place in the town's "Jardim do Pescador" (Fisherman's Park) on the shores of the Ria Formosa lagoon, the event offers the chance to sample the huge variety of seafood for which the area is justly famed. Lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, octopus and squid as well as more exotic creatures are offered in abundance. Local speciality recipes, like "ameijosa a Buhla Pato" (a clam dish named after a nineteenth century poet) and "caldeirada" (a hearty seafood stew) will be very hard to resist, especially as the ingredients are as fresh from the sea as it is possible to be.

A number of Portugal's most celebrated chefs are attending this year and they will be demonstrating their culinary skills by preparing tasting menus to sample, at a fraction of the prices you would otherwise pay in the prestigious restaurants where they usually work.

Aside from the food there is a variety of music on offer with local folk music and dance and Brazilian samba performers. Each evening culminates in a spectacular pop concert. Also on offer are local artisan crafts, confectionery and other products of the region.

Admission to the event is 8 euros for adults and 3 euros for children, under 7's enter free. On entry you may also optionally purchase a "family pack", comprising 5 beers, 2 soft drinks, bread and butter for 10 euros.

Olhao is the largest fishing port on the Algarve, landing fish and seafood caught either in the local Ria Formosa lagoon system or in the colder waters of the Atlantic ocean, beyond the chain of islands strung like a protective curtain just offshore. The whole of this coastal lagoon region is a national park. The town is situated less than 20 km from Faro airport, and regular flights to Faro are available all year round.