Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538131
Nature Notebook Recipe of the Month: Wild Velvet – Purslane Pesto on Sweet Potato Friends of the Earth Malta presents the perfect plant-based summer rec- ipe, featuring wild purslane! While most greens wilt under the summer sun, purslane, often mistak- en for a common weed, thrives. This resilient wild green is packed with Omega-3s and has a fresh, slightly tangy flavour that makes it ideal for light, seasonal meals. Want to know how to use it in your cooking? Check out FoEM's latest Recipe of the Month and discover this underrated green: foemalta.org/ blog/recipe-of-the-month-wild-velvet Green idea of the week 135 Check out FoEM's latest Recipe of the Month: foemalta. org/blog/recipe-of-the-month-wild-velvet Don't miss this Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member 1. Colour Fest Date: 8 August Location: Ta' Qali Artisan Village, Attard, Malta Join us for this year's edition of Colour Fest at the Ta' Qali Artisan Village – an evening dedicated to local talent, tradition, and summer celebration. 2. Rock Legends 2025 Date: 8 August Location: Triq Lourdes, Ghajnsielem, Malta A free live concert featuring The Rock Troupers as headliners. The Rock Troupers is a rock ensemble made up from various Maltese musicians (6 in all) coming from different bands. The evening will also include local band The Marmalades. 3. Delicata Classic Wine Festival 2025 Date: 8-10 August Location: Upper Barrakka Gardens, Triq Sant' Orsla, Valletta, Malta Head to the 2025 edition of Delicata's celebrated summer wine festival, set once again in the enchanting Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta, on August 8, 9 and 10. The festivities run nightly from 7pm until midnight, inviting you to sip, savour and sing along under the stars. Sunday night will dazzle with "Legends of Pop", a spectacular tribute to timeless pop hits. Expect powerful vocals, iconic tunes and high energy as Maltese music stars Glen Vella, Ludwig Galea, and Michela Galea join forces with the Spiteri Lucas Band for an unforgettable live show of classic pop covers. 4. Notte Napoletana Date: 8 August Location: Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta, Malta Join the Malta Concert Orchestra, led by Maestro Dario Salvi, for a vibrant night of Neapolitan music. Enjoy timeless classics like O Sole Mio, Funiculì Funiculà, and Granada in rich vocal and orchestral arrangements that capture the soul and spirit of Naples. 5. Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (Santa Marija) Date: 15 August 2025 Location: Different localties, around Malta Celebrate the Feast of the Assumption (Santa Marija) on the 15th of August and the anniversary of the SS Ohio's heroic arrival in Grand Harbour in 1942—an event that brought hope during WWII and changed Malta's history. Join us in honouring courage, faith, and resilience that lit a nation in its darkest hour. 6. Castillo: Il-Festival Mediterranju tal- Letteratura ta' Malta 2025 Date: 20 August Location: Creative Space, Castile Square Pope Pius V Street, Valletta As part of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival 2025, the Maltese film Castillo will be screened on 20 August at 7.30 pm at the Spazju Kreattiv Cinema . With the support of the National Book Council, the film will be followed by a public discussion led by writer and critic Teodor Relji. He will be joined by Simone Spiteri, theatre writer, leading actress in the same film and guest author for this year's Festival; Mark Camilleri, Chief Executive of the National Book Council; and filmographer Carlos Debattista. This event will be bilingual, in Maltese and English. 7. Exhibition - Two Moons and Two Suns Date: Until 20 August Location: Palazzo de La Salle, Republic Street, Valletta, Malta An exhibition proposed by the Fictive Archive Investigations – a collaborative multidisciplinary, international project and working group, led by artist Claire Ducène. Twelve artists from a wide range of disciplines offer a labyrinth of possibilities for the island archive and its fiction. 8. What is to Become is Already Here Date: Until end September Location: MICAS — Malta International Contemporary Arts Space, Triq Joseph J. Mangion, Floriana, Malta Working across several agreed principles, the three distinct bodies of work reflect Shawcross embrace of the possibilities of the physical space. The placing of the works serves to guide the visitor around the grounds, with the sculpture on the fortification walls overlooking the harbour, visible from many vantage points in the environs, signalling a clear message about the future mission of the site. Colour Fest will take place on 8 August, in Ta' Qali 981. Common heliotrope MOST plants flower in spring but some intrepid species go for a summer display. One of our less showy summer species is the com- mon heliotrope (M. vanilja bajda), a lovely plant if you stoop for a closer look. The plant looks greyish as it's mostly covered in small silvery fur. It's in bloom all summer and grows along roadsides and field edges. My favourite part of the plant is the young flower stalk, which curls back delicately, reminiscent of a violin's neck and scroll. But instead of pegs there's these tiny white flowers in a neat zigzag down the stalk – a picture of quiet elegance. The name heliotrope comes from two Greek words meaning sun and turning, referring to plant's habit of turning towards the sun for maximum photosyn- thesis. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 AUGUST 2025 ALMANAC Victor Falzon, Desirée Falzon (photo)