Semana dos Baleeiros in Lajes do Pico: whalers' week dates, regattas and the Lourdes procession

Lajes do Pico stopped hunting whales decades ago, but for one week at the end of every August the town brings the old whaleboats back out. The Semana dos Baleeiros, the whalers' week, mixes whaleboat races in the bay with the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, patroness of the whalers, and with late concerts on a stage by the sea. In 2026 it ran from Monday 24 to Sunday 30 August. Below is what happened when in 2026, which events are worth planning a trip around, and where to sleep. The 2027 programme was not out at the end of October 2026, so treat the times as a guide to the shape of the week and check the municipality's site before you book.

In recent years the festival has run Monday to Sunday in the second half of August: 19 to 25 August in 2024, the 38th edition, and 24 to 30 August in 2026. The religious side starts earlier: the novena masses for Our Lady of Lourdes began on 21 August in 2026, and the image went back to its chapel on Monday 31 August.

The busiest days are the last three. Thursday has the first headline concert, Friday the first races, and the weekend brings the sailing regatta, the sea procession and the closing procession.

In 2026 every whaleboat event took place in the Baía das Lajes, the bay in front of the town, and the Clube Náutico das Lajes do Pico ran them all:

• Whaleboat rides on Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30. You sign up at the festival secretariat, so ask at the information point the evening before.
• Jogos baleeiros, the whalers' games, on Thursday at 19:00 at the club's slipway.
• The women's rowing regatta on Friday at 17:00, followed at 18:30 by a skills trial.
• The sailing regatta on Saturday at 14:00. The municipality calls it the "Prova Rainha", the main event, and it brings whaleboats from several islands.
• The men's rowing regatta on Saturday at 18:30.

The races are free to watch from the seafront. These are the same kind of boats the town once used to chase sperm whales, and the Museu dos Baleeiros, in the old boat houses on the seafront, tells that story. It opened on 28 August 1988. From April to September it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:30, and closes on Mondays.

Our Lady of Lourdes is the patroness of the whalers, and the parish runs her feast inside the festival week. RTP Açores reported "140 years of devotion" in 2023. The 2026 programme:

• Sunday 23 August, 20:00: Mass, then a candlelit procession through the town.
• Saturday 29 August, 11:00: a procession from the main church to the Caneiro, then a procession by sea, then back to the church.
• Sunday 30 August: the Mass for the sick at 11:30, a solemn Mass at 16:00 and, at 18:00, the procession of Our Lady of Lourdes, with the customary sermon. RTP Açores reported in 2023 that the sermon was given from a boat.

RTP counted hundreds of people at the procession in 2023. If you follow it, dress as you would for church.

The headline acts play the Palco Avenida on the seafront, and they start late. In 2026 MC Kevinho played on Thursday at 23:30, Os 4 Mens at midnight on Friday night and Fernando Daniel at midnight on Saturday night, each followed by DJs. On Sunday the municipal big band played at 23:15, and a dance at the Filarmónica Liberdade Lajense's terrace closed the week. Earlier in the evening, from about 21:00, philharmonic bands, most of them from Pico's villages, play the garden stage.

Other things on the 2026 programme:

• A crafts and trade fair, Expo Açores, in the Pavilhão Municipal every evening from 20:00 to midnight.
• Fado at the Ermida de São Pedro, the first church on Pico, on Tuesday at 22:30.
• A parade of marchas on Wednesday at 21:30 from the Museu dos Baleeiros, followed by chamarrita dance groups.
• Kayak outings on Friday morning and a 350-metre zip line over the Maré bathing area on Thursday to Saturday afternoons.
• Book launches in the museum's auditorium, children's entertainment in the Jardim da Baleia from 21:00, and a shore-angling tournament on Saturday morning.

An information point opens next to the old primary school from 20:00 each evening, Tuesday to Sunday. The programme warns that it may change, and weather can move a regatta.

The concerts end long after midnight and the regattas start in the afternoon, so the easiest plan is to sleep in Lajes or nearby. Book as early as you can. The ferries to Faial and São Jorge leave from Madalena and São Roque on the north and west coasts, and with a hire car you can drive to Lajes from either, though not comfortably at 02:00 after a long night. Our guide to where to stay on Pico compares the three towns.

The cheapest bed is a tent. The municipal campsite is in the centre of Lajes, close to the Ermida de São Pedro, and its season runs from 1 June to 30 September. In 2026 it also hosted the festival's beach-volleyball tournament, so it will not be quiet. Prices and rules are in our camping on Pico guide.

Lajes is also Pico's whale-watching town, and sperm whales are seen often in summer. A morning boat followed by an afternoon of whaleboat racing makes a good day; see whale watching from Lajes do Pico. The Lajes town walk covers the chapel, the fort and the whalers' staircase, which you will pass all week anyway.

When is the Semana dos Baleeiros? In the second half of August, Monday to Sunday. It ran from 24 to 30 August in 2026 and from 19 to 25 August in 2024. Check the 2027 dates on the Lajes do Pico municipality's site.

When are the whaleboat races? In 2026 the rowing races were on Friday at 17:00 (women) and Saturday at 18:30 (men), and the sailing regatta on Saturday at 14:00, all in the bay in front of the town.

Can visitors ride in a whaleboat? Yes. The 2026 programme had whaleboat rides on Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30, run by the Clube Náutico, with sign-up at the festival secretariat.

Is it worth it if you are staying in Madalena? For the regattas and the Sunday procession, yes, with a car. For the midnight concerts, sleep in Lajes or nearby.

• Município das Lajes do Pico: Semana dos Baleeiros 2026, official programme (PDF)
• Município das Lajes do Pico: Semana dos Baleeiros 2026, 24 to 30 August
• Município das Lajes do Pico: official presentation of the 2026 programme
• RTP Açores: Lajes do Pico celebrates 140 years of devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes (2023)
• RTP Açores: Semana dos Baleeiros 2024, 38th edition
• Rota da Cultura Baleeira: Museu dos Baleeiros
• Município das Lajes do Pico: municipal campsite