A Brazilian June Feast - Festa Junina

Whoever has traveled to Brazil during the month of June, has already found out that Brazilians celebrate the month with parties that can be even bigger than Carnaval in some cities. Those parties are called Festas Juninas and they celebrate saints Anthony, John and Peter with lots of traditional foods, drinks and a theatrical dance inherited from the French called quadrilha (a type of square dance).

The Celebrations are very colorful, the decor are made of paper lanterns and colorful banners.Men dress up as farm boys with large straw hats and women wear pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth and red-checkered dresses, all in a loving tribute to the origins of Brazilian country music. Like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing and fun games for the children.

Since I had my children, I always try to bring Brazilian culture into their lives. It is important to me to have the Brazilian culture alive and plus I LOVE parties!! :)

So when I found out some of my family members from Brazil were coming to visit us and also was going to be my Uncle's Birthday, I knew I had  to celebrate by doing a Festa Junina!

The food table had some of the traditional Festa Junina food like corn on the cob, corn bread, mini hot dogs and popcorn

My sister brought the paper lanterns and the banners from Brazil. I made the pink and green banner out of fabric.

One of the children's favorite game at a Festa Junina is a game called Pescaria. So I made a little sweet treat for each of them called Balinha de Pescaria.

Just like a real Festa Junina we had games and prendas(prizes).

The prize table

At every Festa Junina the bonfire is a must! To honor the tradition, we made Bonfire cupcakes! 
To learn how to make them go to Bonfire cupcakes

My daughters all ready for some fun! Freckles, pig tales and a straw hat are a must!!

Of course my son had to dress up too!! Fake mustache and all!

Game time! We played Fishing Game, Musical Chairs, Hit or Miss can game to name a few!

And they got some cool prizes too!!

My Uncle was so happy with the party!! And my daughter's friends that came said this was one cool party!

Even my children's friends are learning about the Brazilian culture!!