Just as the sizzling Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2024 winds down in Brazil, similar festivities heat up the northern hemisphere. An annual all-day Brazilian Carnaval experience happens in Vancouver on Saturday, February 17, at Performance Works on Granville Island, with celebrations happening all day and well into the night.
This authentic and hotly anticipated annual festival is produced by Latincouver, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Latin American culture in British Columbia.
Split into two dynamic segments, the Brazilian Carnaval features a family-friendly daytime experience on February 17, while the evening unfolds into a sultry celebration for adults at the Brazilian Carnaval Night Party.
Brazilian Carnaval Family
Featuring child- and family-friendly opportunities to experience Brazilian culture, kids will move to the drumbeats of Coletivo Batucada Abrace, a percussive band that will headline a show including batucada music, magicians and a circus performance. Caretta de Furacão street performers, a Bailinho de Carnaval dance party, arcade games, a dance station, face-painting, and a costume competition are other highlights of this joy-filled day.
Brazilian Carnaval Family takes place on Saturday, February 17 from 11 am to 5 pm at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright Street) on Granville Island. Early-bird tickets are available until February 1, for $15 per single child, $10 per child for two children or $8 per child for three or more children. (Regular ticket prices after February 1 are $20, $15 and $10 respectively.) Tickets include entry for two adult parents or guardians; additional accompanying adults will be charged $5 each. Purchase tickets in advance at latineventsbc.ca.
Brazilian Carnaval Night Party
The adults-only Brazilian Carnaval Night Party welcomes adults who love to samba and batucada all night long. Beloved media personality Bruna Weber is the MC for this late-night party incorporating music, dance, and Carnaval food and drinks.
Among the musical acts are Sambacouver, pioneering Brazilian cultural ambassadors specializing in axé and samba; Menilson, the Brazilian singer and composer now leading Meni Axé Band in joyous song; and Brejera band, joined by special guests Camila Louzada (Bom Tom) and Nando Aguir to perform samba, forró and axé music.
Also bringing the heat will be DJ Lu, who has quickly become a Vancouver favourite since relocating here. Costumes are encouraged, with a hotly contested costume competition, plus Make-Your-Own-Abadá and face-painting stations that make Carnaval style and swagger accessible to everyone.
Brazilian Carnaval Night Party takes place on Saturday, February 17 at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright Street) on Granville Island, from 9 pm (doors open 8:30 pm) to 1 am. Early-bird tickets are $30 until February 1, and $35 thereafter (both include a complimentary beer) at latineventsbc.ca.