Festa Junina 2013 - Brazilian Traditions

 Our Annual Festa Junina was very special this year because my parents, sister and nieces were here visiting us from Brazil!

Since moving back from Brazil in 2010,  I kept this tradition alive for my children.

You can check out my previous Festa Juninas HERE and HERE.

We celebrate the month of June(and sometimes in July) 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). They usually take place in a large open space outdoors called an arraial.

 Food like corn bread, pacoca(peanut butter candy), pe de moleque(peanut bars), sweet popcorn,  brigadeiro(chocolate fudge), canjica(sweet corn pudding), caramelized apples, corn on the cob, hot dogs, quentao(Brazilian spiced alcoholic drink) and batidas(tropical fruits cocktails) are a must!

 At any Festa Junina, 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.

 My parents brought from Brazil goodies like pe de moleque(peanut bars), pacoca(peanut butter candy) and bananadas(banana candy bar). We also had some fun playing with some poppers just like we do in Brazil!

 Fishing Game, Musical Chairs, Hit or Miss can game, kissing booth, correio do amor(love mail - send an anonymous message to someone you like/care), egg on the spoon and sack race are traditional games at  any Festa Junina! 

 My father made delicious kabobs(churrasquinho) and sausage on the stick(salsichao)!

 Usually the adults get together couple of days before the party to practice the  "quadrilha" which features couple formations around a mock wedding whose bride and groom are the central attraction of the dancing. You can download songs (portuguese only) that tells you what moves to make and what to do or/and say. We did  a small version and I translated to my guests the words of the song. 

My daughter was the bride and my son the groom! Too funny!!

Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit of my culture!

Thank you for stopping by!

XO,

Cris

Vendor Credits:

Styling and Photography by Crissy's Crafts

Printable by Bird's Party

Games, Tiki Hut, straw hats, party wear, prizes and decorations from Oriental Trading

Peacock Party a Brazilian Celebration - Carnaval - 2013

Even though I live miles away from my native country of Brazil, we celebrated Carnaval this past weekend with a lot of confetti, samba, caipirinha, barbecue and brazilian sweets. 

My friend Bird from Bird's Party designed the gorgeous printables mixing the brazilian colors(blue, green and yellow) with peacock designs.  To keep with the printable design, the sweet table was decorated with a lot of peacock feathers, peacock masks, peacock backdrop and matching tablecloth. The dessert included everything from brazilian sweets like the brigadeiro(kind of chocolate bonbon), docinho de coco(coconut bonbon), mini quindim(coconut custard), peacock cake pops by the very talented Samantha from Evie & Mallow Cake Pop & Party Shoppe, cupcakes, chocolate masks and some sweet candy. 

As for appetizers, we enjoyed a cheese platter, bruschetta, salsa/dip and mozzarella basil tomato bites to name a few.  My husband was in charge of the grill and we had some delicious steak and chicken kabobs, sausage and chicken wings.

Our guests received masks and kit folia(party kit) with some poppers, streamers and mask tattoos upon arrival. Since this was also a kid friendly party, I set up a "Make your own Mask" Craft Station.

Our non brazilian friends were able to learn a little more about my culture while having fun!

Styling and Photography by Crissy's Crafts - http://crissyscrafts.blogspot.com/

Printable by Bird's Party - http://www.birdsparty.com/

Peacok cake pops by Evie & Mallow Cake Pop & Party Shoppe - http://www.evieandmallow.com/

Peacock masks, tissue fans, gumballs, take out boxes and paper goods from Oriental Trading - http://www.orientaltrading.com/

Festa Junina - A traditional Brazilian party

We had a traditional Brazilian party called "Festa Junina" from my native country of Brazil

Whoever has traveled to Brazil during the month of June and July, 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 my culture alive and plus I LOVE parties!! :)

The dessert table had some of the traditional Festa Junina food like corn bread, pacoca(peanut butter candy), pe de moleque(dessert made out of peanuts), sweet popcorn,  brigadeiro(chocolate fudge), sweet and salty peanuts to name a few. Corn on the cob is a must at a Festa Junina, instead of real corn, I made marshmallow corn on the cob using jumbo and mini marshmallows. Lynlee's Petite Cakes made the cupcake toppers to match exactly from the Festa Junina that Bird's Party custom designed specially for the occasion.

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

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

All our guests had a blast they were able to leaner a little bit more about my native country culture.

At Festa Junina parties, men dress up as farm boys with large straw hats and women wear pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth, and red-checked dresses (all in a loving tribute to the origins of Brazilian country music). Dancing and fun games for the children make for an awesome party!

The dessert table had some of the traditional Festa Junina food like corn bread, pacoca (peanut butter candy), pe de moleque (dessert made out of peanuts), sweet popcorn,  brigadeiro(chocolate fudge), sweet and salty peanuts to name a few. Corn on the cob is a must at any Festa Junina, instead of real corn, Crissy made marshmallow corn on the cob using jumbo and mini marshmallows. Lynlee’s Petite Cakes made the cupcake toppers to match exactly with the Festa Junina printable that Bird’s Party custom designed especially for the occasion.

photography and styling Crissy's Crafts

printables fromBird's Party

coordinated cupcake toppers by  Lynlee's Petite Cakes

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!!