When speaking of the Oktoberfest everybody’s mind goes to Germany, and in particular to the city of Munich, but Brazil is where the world’s second biggest Beer Festival takes place.
Do you like the cool crisp taste of some of the best artisan beer you have ever tasted? Even better, how would you like hundreds of thousands of liters of beer poured freely in this Brazilian celebration?
Brazilian Oktoberfest began in 1984, 60 days after the city of Blumenau suffered a terrible flood . The festival was used as a fundraiser to help victims and rebuild the city, and was a huge success. It has been a popular event ever since.
The Oktoberfest is not about the beer, or at least not just about the beer—it’s all about German traditions. You will be treated to folk music, parades, bands and dance companies that come to Blumenau from the old continent. Picture men, boys, girls, and women all dressed in traditional costumes, parading and dancing in the streets. Add crowds of tourists, lining up the central street to cheer them. Imagine your Mardi Gras, but a bit smaller, cozier, with more culture than the French Quarter debauchery; with both German and Brazilian flavors, and you will get it… well, almost.
Some funny competitions are also organized, the most interesting and famous of which is the “Concurso nacional de Chopp em metro”. The competition is free and open to all participants over the age of 18. The challengers must drink 600 ml of beer, “um metro de chope”, in the least amount of time.
Blumenau has been host to the largest Brazilian folk festival after the Carnival, with an average of 700,000 visitors every year. The formula of success is nothing extravagant; it is a celebration with focus on tradition, music, dances and German “Gemütlichkeit.” This and the beauty and tranquility of the state of Santa Catarina attract visitors from all over the world.
The spectacle is not easy to describe—it needs to be experienced. It attracts an audience of, on average, 700 thousand people a year.
The statistics of just how big this annual party in Blumenau is are staggering, for instance:
***There are more attendees than there is street space to hold them, so many walk around holding their friends on their shoulders.
***Blumenau had to build a special dam to release the waters of the Itajai River during Oktoberfest because of the high volume of urination taking place from all the beer drinking. Without the dam, river levels would have become dangerously high.
***Beer is free to everyone. You don’t have to pay for any beer, none of it. (Actually, this is only partially true.) There is a Bierwagen (the Beer Car) that goes through town dispensing free beer every night until it’s gone. But not to worry, there is plenty of cheap beer on sale when the free beer runs out, and to accompany that beer you’ll find some of the best wurst in the world, such as knockwurst, liverwurst and bratwurst.
***During this festival, the cities of Berlin and Munich, Germany offer special travel deals to lure their citizens back to their Oktoberfest parties, without much success.
***Even the Germans are beginning to call the Brazilian version “Oktoberbest.”
