It is with great regret that we inform you that the festival has been cancelled. In spite of great effort to keep it alive, the fact is that without the support of the local business community across the Algarve, together with lack of funding it just made it impossible for ASMAA to run it. As most of you are aware, the festival was to be an integral part of the awareness project for the Say No to Oil and Gas in the Algarve campaign. It was designed to serve various purposes: 1. The Cause - http://algarve-sup-festival.org/en/component/k2/the-cause 2. The Alternative solution - http://algarve-sup-festival.org/en/component/k2/alternative-energy-is-the-future 3. Fund raising for the Say No to Oil and Gas in Algarve campaign. 4. Showcase the beauty of the Algarve - showcase the local business sector and raise the question in the local residents and visitor’s minds – Do we want to lose this fantastic region to oil and gas? During more than 18 months, over 3000 local businesses in the Algarve where contacted, and out of these only 6 businesses joined the program as sponsoring advertisers, not necessary because they supported the cause itself but because it made business sense for them, others failed to back the project for fear of political backlash and harassment. Local councils and other pertinent government entities did not want to participate with some officials going so far as to tell us that they would support the program ONLY if we dropped the Say No to Oil and Gas campaign. We tried. We invested our time and many other resources to make it happen, but it was not to be. We are sad that we had to cancel it … We fought hard for the festival to run, but alone we can’t do it, and we came close to give-up on everything, including the fight against the proposed oil and gas exploration that has now been confirmed by both Repsol/Partex (South Coast of Algarve) and Galp (West Coast) that it will go ahead towards the end of 2015 and without the appropriate EIA’s (Environmental Impact Studies) been conducted. So, what now? Are we really throwing in the tower? And stopping the Say NO to Oil and Gas in Algarve campaign? NO! Not at all. When, we were ready to give up - we found a light at the end of the tunnel – we are linking up with other think alike small groups spread throughout Portugal … together at long last a movement is rising to fight the risks that oil and gas operations (both offshore and onshore) pose to local communities and to the environment. We will keep you abreast of developments in the coming months. Thank you to all that have assisted us in the past, thanks to all that emailed us with words of encouragement and thanks to all that have donated time and money. The ASMAA Team PS: If you would like to assist us with a small donation via Paypal or via a Bank Transfer here’s the link to Donate: http://asmaa-algarve.org/index.php/en/donate