The Algarve's best-known animal welfare charity is not slowing down for winter. The Association for Protection of Animals Algarve (APAA), led by president Jenny Clarke, has just rolled out a packed season of fundraisers across the region — and visitors and expats are welcome at every one of them.
Headlining the calendar is a joint Christmas Charity Ball and Dinner with the Silves Rotary Club on Friday, December 11, a dress-up evening out that organisers expect to book up fast (places can be reserved by email). Before that, there's a pop-up at O Tasco restaurant near Portimão on Monday, October 26 — a chicken piri-piri day that's a firm favourite with locals — and the Ferragudo Fair Boot Sale on Sunday, November 11, which runs on the main road every second Sunday of the month, weather permitting.
November also brings a showcase at Convento'bio in Lagoa, a regular platform for small arts and crafts businesses, plus pop-ups celebrating the newly revamped APAA charity shop in Alvor, including one outside the shop itself and another at the Jolly Bar in Alvor. The shops are worth a browse in their own right: handmade jewellery, ornaments, homemade chutneys, jams, marmalades, pickles and cookies, all at bargain prices and squarely aimed at early Christmas shoppers. The Alvor shop at Dunas de Alvor opens Monday to Saturday, 10.30am to 2pm, and the Silves shop on Rua Elias Garcia 20 runs Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm (until 1pm on Saturdays). Good-quality unwanted gifts are welcomed as donations.
The charity's Legacy Pet Plan, championed by ambassador Anita Wight, is also gaining traction. The initiative — run with ARA — helps owners plan for their pets' future and recently held an Open Day with a lawyer on hand to give advice, which organisers describe as a big success. Another Open Day is planned.
All of this fun has a serious purpose. Funds raised go into APAA's SNiP (Spaying & Neutering Programme), which tackles the Algarve's large feral-cat colonies and supports smaller shelters and charities dealing with out-of-control cat populations. The team also reports a recent rise in abandoned dogs, each needing vet care, food and fostering before rehoming — all of which costs money.
Why should a traveller care? If you're wintering in the Algarve or visiting between October and December, these events are an easy way to meet the local community, pick up genuinely good homemade goods and gifts, and put your euros towards a cause that visibly improves the region's streets and countryside. Even a morning browsing the Alvor or Silves shop helps. Keep an eye on the APAA Portugal Facebook page for charity auctions and last-minute pop-ups, and note that no preserves or cookies are sold at the boot sale. New faces, the charity stresses, are always welcome.
