Personal Highlights
Right at the entrance of the tour, two bumping eyeballs were looking at us very curiously. That these balls were moving in the wind gave them a really kind of cartoon-like, funny vibe. We had to stare back. With a closer look, I saw that the eyes are very detailed and sharp print - they just let us immediately grab my camera. I would say it´s The Time to Shine, Cascais!
Welcome to an exhibition designed to impress your strongest sense - your sight! I was already excited at the entrance.
After seeing some amazing works of art, I came across this entertaining interactive tic-tac-toe installation. It took me a while to understand what it was and how it worked. Because of the crowd, I couldn't see anyone actually playing. From a distance, I saw the light sculptures and thought how entertaining it was.
Of course, there is an outstanding work by the main players, Ocubo, on the main square. They have put the name of the festival, Luminainto action. It is also an interactive installation. The panel looks futuristic, so I had to try out how it works. It is controlled in two directions when I move my hand. Basically, the light follows my movements. It's quite fun – even better was that there were options. When I balled my hand into a fist, only a point of light appeared. And the point could be moved around, or with an open hand and the light over the entire letter. The light could be moved from right to left and from top to bottom – as a small point or as a larger area. In addition, each movement was accompanied by sounds. The full light sounded like a big wave – moving the light back and forth was like water washing around. I had the image of the film Encantoin my mind, especially the character Peppa. There, you can see and hear her emotions through the weather. This light installation provided me with a kind of emotion through light and sound.
I also really like that they used old fishing nets, which created a cool reflection effect. It also fits really well with the theme and the sound. I still need to find out more about the control system they used.
There was another magnificent installation by Ocubo at Cascais Castle. Dancing light on tubes hanging from the ceiling. I lay down on the floor underneath and watched the spectacle. Until I realised that you probably had the best view from the side, as you can see in the video. Watching it also stirred up many feelings and emotions, while the music perfectly complemented the performance.
After we had surrounded the castle, its walls were illuminated with rapidly changing colours. Intense, shaped beams of light made the castle walls visible, combined with classical music with a modern touch and some melodies sung by an opera singer. As we approached through the crowd, we saw that this was all a live performance. Award-winning opera singers performed alongside a DJ and a light artist who drew on the wall with light in time to the music. It was a very good concert. I stayed for the entire concert.
Directly behind the Visual Piano was a video mapping loop with various videos. The façade of a building was transformed by all the effects of the show. It showcased the prize for new talent in this field. They were selected to be shown at the festival. All four videos were highly entertaining to watch. Well done. And you can still vote until 21 de setembro de 2025 to choose the winner of this competition. Great work by everyone. Here is the link to the quote – choose your favourite video and support the young talents!
This was my next highlight in the Garden of Light. At first glance, the installation seemed simple, but there was something magical about it. I think it was the combination of the soothing design of the flowers and the music. As I got closer, it was fun to play with my own sharp shadow. We took some cool photos and videos.
Sunflowers in the shopping streets. You see them everywhere – crowds of people and huge, cheerful flowers in between. The abundance of flowers made it something very special. The path led to the end of the tour. I think we'll see each other again next year to see more inspiring illuminations.
General impressions about this event:
Above, I wrote about my highlights of this festival. Now I would like to describe some of my general impressions. I think it's absolutely fantastic that this huge event is free! That's definitely a plus point for visiting. Cascais is easy to reach by public transport, and the tour started right in front of the main station.
What I hadn't expected was that it was quite a long way from one artwork to the next. You had to walk a lot. As we got stuck in traffic a little, we arrived later than expected and couldn't see all the stations. I also didn't download the maps for the tour online. Maybe that was my fault – but I didn't see the mapas online in advance. A day later, it was very prominent on the website and easy to find – maybe I never refreshed the website on my mobile phone. I mean, we found most of the stations even without a map – but I recommend using it. It would have been helpful.
It was great that there were food trucks, because we needed them. That was the only thing still open after the tour ended at midnight. I would recommend eating dinner beforehand and allowing enough time for the entire tour. I could have used the 4 hours.
There were also actors/theatre artists walking through the streets in light costumes. We only saw some of them from a distance.
This was the seventh year of the festival in Cascais. It's a beautiful place that I really enjoyed. It's a beautiful place that I really enjoyed. I'm excited to see what they come up with for next year's event!
And I'll definitely be finding out more about the other lighting designers who took part in this festival. I'll tell you all about it in one of my next posts!
What do you think about Lumina? Leave a comment! Would you visit it?
