Taste in Rio Festival is Back on the Lagoa Over Holiday Weekend

By Ciara Long, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Starting in the early afternoon of Rio’s public holiday on Friday, January 20th and continuing until late, Taste in Rio will take place in Parque dos Patins on the Lagoa. The food festival will bring together a collection of restaurants, food trucks and breweries in addition to live music, water sports and children’s entertainment.

Entrance is free for the food festival, which begins on Friday with the public holiday celebrating the city’s patron saint, São Sebastião. This edition of Taste in Rio is due to start at 1PM on Friday afternoon and last until 11PM, and is scheduled to follow the same timetable on Saturday and Sunday.

Taste in Rio says it will “unite in one place the big names of Brazilian cuisine, creating exclusive dishes for the festival”, involving names such as Brazilian chef Roberta Sudbrack. More than fifty food trucks, bikes and restaurants, will provide a range of food options, from barbecue and hamburgers to international cuisine and vegetarian options.

Organizers have announced the participation of local brewery ‘Jeffrey the Duck’, and previous festivals have also seen breweries like ‘3 Cariocas’ involved. Additionally, there will be wines, cachaças and artisanal sangrias on offer to visitors to the event.

‘Taste in Rio’ will also provide an array of entertainment options and sporting activities, including children’s entertainment. Among the choices, visitors will be able to try their hand at slackline, archery and a zero-gravity simulator.

There will also be water sports available, including Stand Up Paddle, Waterball and kayaking. For those seeking less active entertainment options, there will be cuisine-themed films and culinary workshops from 4PM each day.

DJs will play throughout the food festival, but live music performances will take place in the evenings. On Friday night from 7PM, there will be jazz, soul and samba performances as well as band ‘Tá Ligado’ will playing Brazilian rock.

Saturday night will entail New York-influenced blues and a performance from ‘Rota 66’, while Sunday will see a ‘Secos e Molhados’ tribute act and a rehearsal from ‘Bloco do Afrojazz’.

What: Taste in Rio food festival
When: 1PM – 11PM on Friday, January 20th, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd
Where: Parque dos Patins, Av. Borges de Medeiros, Lagoa
Entrance: Free

Update: Taste in Rio has been cancelled, as of January 19th, until further notice due to thunderstorms forecast for this weekend. Further information about future event dates will be available via Taste in Rio’s Facebook page.