Brazilian Carnaval

February 18, 2017 - Theme: "Carnaval"

This event was very fun!

Participants could learn more about Carnaval, practice Portuguese, and enjoy fun activities in a relaxing and fun environment!

The music performance, the warm-up, the craft activity brought some of the Carnaval essence and energy to the room! It is great to have a place where cultures can come together, and where Portuguese-speakers can practice their Portuguese, meet new people, and experience some of their own culture here in the U.S.

We started the 2017 events with a famous Brazilian celebration, Carnaval, which is a Christian festival that happens 51 days before Easter, and goes until Ash Wednesday (the mark of Lent).

Carnaval is celebrated annually with lots of colors, rhythms, costumes, and music in many cities around Brazil.

Activities in this event:

Warm-up: In a circle, participants took turns sharing two words that came to their minds when they heard the word “Carnaval”. Some of the words shared were: colors, music, confetti, happiness.

Game: Students Austin Ebanks, Alex Barone and Jason O'Mara coordinated and played a fun game called “The Cat and the Mouse”, where two participants were chosen to chase each other in a maze. The participants had a lot of fun playing this game!

Craft activity: Lucia Arsky taught participants to craft a necklace made of colorful noodles, and later, she also taught how to make a Carnaval mask. The kids had a lot of fun, and made beautiful and colorful masks!

Music performance: Tarcísio Ramo, a charismatic Brazilian musician and artist, and Austin Ebanks, a talented violinist from SUNY Albany, gave a beautiful music performance! They played some famous Samba songs, such as “É devagar, devagarinho”, and “Oh, abre alas!”, and they also played a mix of Samba and Classical Music using a tambourine, and violin!