It has been announced that the ‘Bola Doce Fair’ will return to Miranda do Douro, in the district of Bragança, from the 28 March to 30 March. As mentioned by Miranda do Douro’s Mayor Helena Barril, the event which will take place in a new venue and feature about 90 exhibitors, has been growing in the number of registrations and popularity across the country.
As a consequence of the high demand at national level, Helena Barril told Lusa that for that reason “we extended invitations to producers from outside the Planalto Mirandês territory in an attempt to open doors to other producers due to the increase in requests to participate in this fair, which is a showcase for regional products. We will also be careful in selecting exhibitors”. Besides, to make the event even more special they are also inviting mixed dancers, traditional warriors, and the ‘pauliteiros’, all ambassadors of the Mirandese culture.
Miranda do Douro is advertising the ‘Bola Doce Fair’, which is made of cinnamon and sugar and cooked in a traditional wood-fired oven, not only at a national level but also in Spain, in an effort to get the greatest amount of tourists to visit the town. If you cannot wait for the fair in order to try the traditional ‘cake’, there are plenty of establishments where you can buy them, or in alternative, order them online. The Mirandesa sweet ball is at least as old as the Portuguese discoveries, according to a research conducted by the historian António Rodrigues Mourinho.
"There are records at least since 1510 that indicate [this as] the most likely date of the introduction of the sweet ball on the tables of the inhabitants of Planalto Mirandês. The tradition was inherited from convents or families of the clergy and rich people. The people were modifying the ball in a regional way, giving it its own shape and flavour that distinguishes it from sweets from other regions", António Mourinho explained.