The story

The story

HitchFest – the hitchhiking Festival – was a meeting about traveling, ecology, activism, self-discovery and awareness. It was the predecessor of Festança!!

It took place in 2017 and in 2019 at the north of Portugal. There, we shared knowledge and experiences collected on the road. We learned to know ourselves, to trust in life and to act in order to transform the world.


HitchFest 2019

Between July 31 and August 4 of 2019, we chose to laid-back with our backpacks on the river banks of the river Rio Sousa, in Lousada, Portugal.

HitchFest 2019 was a stunning festival where we praised the community well-being, and where each one of us contributed with what we had: a free and conscious donation at the entrance, volunteering in the kitchen, leftover fabrics for the decoration of the festival, a concert, a workshop…

Between 2 and 3 thousand people enjoyed the this festival held in the park Parque de Merendas do Ameal. They were coming from the nearest village and from the most remote corner of the world. It’s a lot of moments that are difficult to forget!


HitchFest 2017

In August 2017, in Marco de Canaveses, the 1st ever Hitchfest took place. Over one thousand persons visited the festival.

The program took place for five days, filled with presentations, concerts, workshops, performances, group dynamics, exhibitions. It was a time to share about different ways of traveling and places of the world, about activism, ecology and self-discovery. Click on the image below to see the program

Five days that gathered inhabitants of the nearby communities, young people from all over the country and travelers hitchhiking from places like Istanbul or Copenhagen.

The festival itself was voluntarily created and organized by a small group of passionate travelers, who didn’t know each other before!

Magical connections were made!