Rural Castanea — Vinhais Chestnut Festival

Rural Castanea is the Vinhais chestnut festival, four days in October dedicated to the product that marks autumn in the municipality — one of the country’s largest producers, with 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes per year.

At the Exhibition Park, producers gather to offer tastings and sales of chestnuts, honey, wine and mushrooms, alongside the Chestnut Tree Days and competitions for chestnuts, honey and sweets. Roasting takes place continuously in the world’s largest chestnut roaster, recognised by Guinness World Records since 2007, capable of roasting a tonne of chestnuts at a time.

The programme extends to the Biological Park with the autumn mycological gathering, and to the surrounding area with walks and sporting events. Free entry.

Programme

21st RuralCastanea – Longal
Chestnut Festival, Vinhais, 23–25 October 2026
Organised by: Vinhais
Town Council Vinhais – Land of the Longal Chestnut (World’s Largest Chestnut Roaster – Guinness World Records)

23 October – Friday

08:00 – 5th GNR Orienteering Race (Venue: Vinhais Biological Park)
09.15 – School Mycology Workshop “Discovering Mushrooms” – Pupils from the D. Afonso III School Group in Vinhais (Venue: Vinhais Biological Park)
11.00 - Opening of the 21st RuralCastanea – Longal
Chestnut Festival 3.00 pm – 24th Chestnut Tree Technical Conference – A strategy to preserve, promote and safeguard the future of the Longal chestnut (Venue: Auditorium at the entrance to the Agri-Food Pavilion)
6.00 pm – Entertainment with Os Gaiteiros de Zido
6.30 pm – Official Opening Ceremony – 21st RuralCastanea
10.00 pm – Musical performance by Grupo Costa Verde
1.30 am – DJs Kinzanas

24 October – Saturday

08.30 – 24th Chestnut Tree Technical Conference – Sustainable Chestnut Groves (Venue: Next to the World’s Largest Chestnut Roaster / Field trip)
09.00 – TSF Programme – Terra à Terra
09.15 – Wild Boar Hunt (Venue: “Mancha de Ousilhão” Municipal Hunting Ground)
09.30 – Mycological Meeting: “Understanding and Appreciating Mushrooms” (Venue: Vinhais Biological Park)
10.30 – 2nd Wild Boar Magusto (Organised by: Javalis do Asfalto)
10.30 am – Entertainment by Os Aliados da Concertina
11.00 am – “Dona Castanha de Vinhais” – A Small Chestnut-Based Sweet – Aida Loureiro (Venue: Kitchen of the Agri-Food Pavilion)
2.00 pm – Entertainment with Os Gaiteiros de Zido
3.00 pm – Chestnut-based Sweet Treats Competition (Venue: Auditorium at the entrance to the Agri-Food Pavilion)
3.15 pm - Arrival of Mirandese-breed bulls (Venue: Bullring)
3.30 pm - D’Gustar TTM – Tasting of products bearing the Terras de Trás-os-Montes seal (Venue: Kitchen of the Agri-Food Pavilion)
4.00 pm – Entertainment by Os Gaiteiros D’Onor
5.30 pm – Entertainment by Os Máscaras de Vila Boa
5.45 pm – Municipal Chestnut Competition (Venue: Auditorium at the entrance to the Agri-Food Pavilion)
6.00 pm – “Bochechas de Palas”, by Aida Loureiro (Venue: Kitchen of the Agri-Food Pavilion)
10.00 pm – Concert with RESISTÊNCIA
12.00 am – DJs Bad Monkeyz
2.00 am – DJ FGarcia

25 October – Sunday

08.15 – Inauguration of the PR23 walking route “Trilho da Castanha Longal” (Starting point: Casa do Povo building – Future Castanha Longal Interpretation Centre | Organised by: Enzonas)
08:30 – Mountain bike ride “Along the Castanha Longal Trails” (Organised by: VinhaisExtreme)
10:00 – Olive Grove Technical Conference (Venue: Auditorium at the entrance to the Agri-Food Pavilion)
10.30 am – Entertainment by Sons do Tuela
11.00 am – “Flavours of the Chestnut” with Pastry Chef Luís Miguel (Venue: Kitchen of the Agri-Food Pavilion)
11.15 am – Entertainment by the Moimenta
Bagpipe Group 12.30 pm – Entertainment by the Rebordelo
Philharmonic Band 1.00 pm – XXI RuralCastanea Awards Ceremony - Longal
Chestnut Festival 2.00 pm – Entertainment by the Ousilhão
Masked Dancers and Bagpipers 2.30 pm – Beekeeping Days (Venue: Auditorium at the entrance to the Agri-Food Pavilion)
3.00 pm – Uncle João’s
Family Chestnut Feast 3.30 pm – “The Vinhais Chestnut in Haute Cuisine” presented by Chef Óscar Geadas – Michelin Star – Restaurant G (Venue: Kitchen of the Agri-Food Pavilion)
4.00 pm – Entertainment with the Ervedosa
Singing Group 7.00 pm – Closing ceremony of the 21st RuralCastanea – Longal Chestnut Festival

Note: on the poster, the Resistência concert and the DJs Bad Monkeyz and FGarcia appear in the right-hand column, above the Sunday section. Given the timing (10.00 pm, midnight, 2.00 am), I’ve placed them on Saturday night. If you’d like, I can transfer this to a document or a file for publication.