Itaipava Hosts Food, Fashion and Music Festival This Weekend

By Georgia Grimond, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Following the knock-out success of food-truck events in Rio and São Paulo, the first Food Truck Park event will take place this weekend, August 1st and 2nd, in the Castello de Itaipava (Itaipava Castle) in the hills outside Rio de Janeiro city, showcasing food from all over the world, new beers, fashion and music.

With more than forty selected exhibitors, visitors will be able to feast on food from all over the world, including Mexican, Thai and Italian dishes, as well as Brazilian favorites such as tapioca and linguiças (sausage) and, of course, many different types of delicious burgers. Plenty of brownies, bolo (cake) and deserts will also tempt visitors. Of the hundreds of different dishes on offer, none is more expensive than R$35.

Cervejaria Bohemia, one of Rio’s local beers that is bottled in nearby Petrópolis, is co-organizer of the event and the brand will be showcasing three new artisanal beers over the weekend – Jabutipa, Bela Rosa and Caá-Yari.

Alongside the food trucks there will also be fifteen hours of music with performances from Afro Jazz Band and English singer, Folakemi. DJ Egil will spin jazz, blues and afrobeat on vinyl.

Favela Hype, a fashion brand, are bringing a kombi (VW camper van) for the weekend and will be offering up to fifty percent of their clothes. Fashion Road will be selling accessories from R$5.

Alongside a children’s area there will be the chance to attempt slack-lining – walking a tightrope pulled taught between two trees – with an instructor. Artist Andrea Brandani will unveil a new truck he has designed and painted as well as other pieces of his art. Rádio Cidade will give listeners the opportunity to win a night’s stay at the castle.

Castelo de Itaipava is a magnificent medieval-style castle that was built in the 1920s. Using only materials from Europe, the stone is Portuguese, the roof tiles French, the rose-wood doors English and the stained-glass windows Austrian. There are 42 rooms, including nineteen bedrooms, a library and the famous Hall of the Zodiac. The owner engraved the names of his children in gold above the doors of their bedrooms.

Over 20,000 people are expected to attend the food-truck festival over the two days, coming from Rio and surrounding areas. Itaipava lies close to Teresópolis and the imperial city of Petrópolis approximately two hours from Rio de Janeiro. Sitting high up in the hills that surround the city, the area has long been popular with the royal and the wealthy who would seek out the cooler, fresher air in Rio’s summer.

It is possible to get to Itaipava by bus from Rio’s rodovária, or coach station. However, renting a car is recommended as there are plenty of excursions to do in the area, including visiting the various cities to take in their Northern European style architecture and wide range of Germanic food. It is also possible to do a tour of some of the local breweries and go on a number of hikes.

This weekend two exclusive and free buses will run between Itaipava and Petrópolis to Castelo de Itaipava, courtesy of Brea Rio Turismo. To get to the castle, look for buses that read ITAIPAVA X FOOD PARK or PETRÓPOLIS X FOOD PARK.

Entrance is R$10 and kids under twelve go free. Tickets can be bought in advance here, or be purchased at the door. Parking is free. The event goes between 12PM and 10PM on Saturday and 11AM and 4PM on Sunday.