By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Through Saturday, October 28th, beer lovers can check the Oktoberfest Rio Festival in Lapa, the Carioca edition of Germany’s most traditional party. The festival takes place in sixty different bars situated mostly in Lapa, but also in Santa Teresa and Centro.
All the participant bars, restaurants and cultural centers created special German plates for the event. For R$35, one can get a tap beer and a German dish in any of the venues.
Those who want to make the most of Rio’s Oktoberfest can buy the event’s “passport”: for R$60, you get a T-shirt, the official beer jug and a discount of R$10 in every combo (beer + food).
Among the participant venues are the Booze Bar, Baródromo, Casa Momus, Bar Carioca da Gema, Rio Scenarium, Lapa 40 Graus and Mangue Seco. Two of the most traditional Carioca restaurants for German food, Bar Luiz (in Centro) and Adega do Pimenta (in Santa Teresa), are also taking part of the festival.
Rio’s Oktoberfest also promoted cultural attractions last Friday, October 20th, when group Rheinland Pfalz presented German folkloric dances at Sarau Rio, in Lapa.
The Oktoberbest was originally created in Munich, in the Bavarian region, about two hundred years ago. Even though beer is Oktoberfest’s main attraction, it only became the event’s traditional drink in the 1920s – alcohol was forbidden in the first editions. Today, Munich’s Oktoberfest is Germany’s biggest festivity, attracting around 10 million people every October.
As most of the German colonies spread around the world, Brazil has its own Oktoberfest celebrations. The oldest ones happen in the South of the country, where the German settlement was stronger. Blumenau (Santa Catarina) hosts the most famous Brazilian Oktoberfest, gathering around 30,000 participants every year.
What: Oktoberfest Rio Festival
When: October 18th to October 28th – check the event to confirm the participant venues’ working hours
Where: Lapa – check the participant venues to see the right address
Entrance: FREE