Date/Time:
02/28/2015 | Saturday | 8:00 pm
Location:
Palmer Events Center
900 Barton Springs Rd
Austin,TX
78704
Categories
One of Austin’s longest-running and most spectacular annual traditions is gearing up for its 38th year. Carnaval Brasileiro, lauded as the largest indoor Brazilian Mardi Gras celebration on the globe, explodes at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, February 28, 2015 at Austin’s Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road.
Photo taken by Merrick Ales
An epic evening with the infectiously danceable pulse of samba drums, an endless parade of exotic costumes, and the euphoria of over 6,000 attendees have established this Brazilian style festival as one of the most anticipated fêtes on area calendars.
Photo taken by Matthew Mahon
The heart and soul of this festivity reside in the authentic, fiery Brazilian carnaval music provided by two high energy bands. Austin’s Susanna Sharpe and Samba Police will be returning for their first Carnaval appearance since 2000. Veterans of 13 previous Carnaval performances, the band will offer a varied palette of traditional Brazilian Carnaval rhythms ranging from the obvious focus of Rio-style sambas and marches, to the more boiling music of Brazil’s Northeast, frevos and samba-reggae.
Photo taken by Matthew Mahon
Austin’s own traditional Rio-style Samba School, the Acadêmicos da Ópera, a locally-based group of 40 drummers and 40 dancers, all bedecked in elaborate unifying costumes, will be making their eleventh Carnaval presentation. Their up-close performances spotlighted in the middle of the dance floor electrify the celebration. They give an exciting and authentic taste of Rio, modeled on that city’s legendary escolas de samba that often comprise 600 drummers and thousands of dancers in Rio’s annual Carnaval parades. For 2015, Acadêmicos da Ópera’s costume theme is based on the concept of the Circus, but with a modern, sophisticated ‘Cirque du Soleil’ type of twist.
Photo taken by Matthew Mahon
The VIP Samba Circle Lounge will again be located in a private space behind the stage with enormous windows facing the lovely downtown skyline. This $25 perk affords guests easier access to bars and restrooms, complimentary coat check and room to relax. While supplies last, VIP guests will receive a complimentary Carnaval poster.
Photo taken by MerrickAles
While not required, guests are encouraged to attend Carnaval in costume. Guests are typically bedecked in anything from gorgeous, traditional Brazilian costumes to the bizarre or the glamorous. Many guests enhance their enjoyment by assembling a group, either from their neighborhood or other affiliation, and costume identically, or thematically, which Brazilians call a bloco. Face and body painting will also be available onsite for a nominal fee.
Photo taken by Merrick Ales
Carnaval Brasileiro began in the early 1970s to offer UT’s Brazilian students a nostalgic dose of their homeland’s legendary festivities, and is now a local institution attracting partygoers from all over the United States. After blowing the roof off one downtown club in 1978, the party immediately outgrew the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters after only one year in residence. Then the old City Coliseum was home to the event for nearly 20 years before settling into its present venue, Palmer Events Center in 2003. Flamboyant, often scanty costumes, throbbing Brazilian samba, and the uninhibited, spirited atmosphere have earned Carnaval its reputation as the premier such festivity in the country.
The party has inspired multiple fan websites, as well as helping cultivate a love of things Brazilian in Central Texas ranging from music and food to Brazilian martial arts. The party has been featured often on national television including appearances on the Price Is Right and twice on HDNet’s Art Mann Presents.
A portion of the proceeds from Carnaval will benefit the Austin Sunshine Camps, a non-profit organization which provides not only free summer camps for Austin at-risk kids, but year-round mentoring and leadership programs.
**GIVEAWAY**
We’ve got 5 amazing pairs of tickets to Carnaval Brasileiro! Comment below with what outrageous costume/accessory you plan on wearing to the event and get your friends to “like” your comment to have a better chance of winning! Winners will be chosen on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 2pm (CST).
