If you'll be in the Algarve this December and fancy a proper festive feast that also does some good, the Carvoeiro Cat Charity Associação (CCCA) is hosting its annual Christmas Fundraising Dinner on Saturday, December 19, at Victoria's restaurant in Poço Barreto, near Silves.
The format is a convivial one: guests arrive at 7pm and sit down to dinner at 7.30pm. The meal opens with a Portuguese-style couvert of bread, olives, butter, pâté and cheese, then moves to a choice of three mains — steak and Guinness stew with baby potatoes, roast turkey with creamy leek and bacon sauce plus potato purée and vegetables, or a vegetarian cottage pie. A dessert buffet finishes things off, and drinks are covered: wine, draught Sagres beer, soft drinks and water are all included in the price.
Tickets are €40 per person, with part of that going straight to the charity's work caring for stray and needy cats around Carvoeiro. The organisers are hoping to see both regular supporters and newcomers at the table, and the dinner doubles as a chance for the area's expat and visitor community to meet over some Christmas cheer.
Booking requires a little admin. You'll need to contact Elaine by email, stating which main course you'd like, and pay in advance — either via PayPal (using the 'Friends and Family' option) or by bank transfer to CCCA's Portuguese account. Details are on the charity's announcement, so book early if you want a seat; charity dinners like this tend to fill up in a town the size of Carvoeiro.
For travellers, this is the kind of low-key local event that gives a winter Algarve trip some texture. The coast is quiet in December, many resort businesses close for the season, and evenings can feel short on entertainment. A charity dinner in a village restaurant near Silves — a short drive inland from Carvoeiro and the coast — is a genuine slice of Algarve life, complete with a properly Portuguese couvert and a Sagres on tap. And if you're a cat person, your €40 helps fund neutering and care work for the street cats that frequent the region's towns and marinas year-round.
