The Oktoberfest of Blumenau is a festival of German traditions that happens in middle October in the city of

Blumenau Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, state of Santa Catarina (Brazil), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil. It is away from the state capital of Florianópolis. The city was founded by the German chemist an ...

, Santa Catarina,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is considered the biggest German festival in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, and the second biggest Oktoberfest celebration in the world after the original

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. It takes place at ''Parque Vila Germânica'' (Germanic Village Park), located in the ''Bairro da Velha'' (District of the Old Woman), and lasts for 18 days.

History

The Oktoberfest of Blumenau was created in 1984, after a big flood of the Itajaí-Açu river, with the objective of recuperating the city's economy and raising the morale of its inhabitants. Even before that, owners of industries and commercial buildings in the city were already planning to start a festival like the original from Munich, but the flood was an important event that set the festival in motion. Since its first edition it has been a success, and today it has an attendance of about than 700,000/year. The event features folk dance (''Tanzgruppen)'', shooting matches (''Schützenvereine''), German

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

folk costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...

and

German cuisine The cuisine of Germany () is made up of many different local or regional cuisines, reflecting the country's federal history. Germany itself is part of the larger cultural region of Central Europe, sharing many culinary traditions with neighbo ...

. "Fritz" and "Frida" are the typical German characters. The "''Vovó e Vovô Chopão''" (Grandma and Grandpa ''Chopão'', "Big Beer") are the official symbolic characters of the event. In August 2020, officials cited the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

as grounds to push back the dates to November. But by early October, they decided to go on hiatus until 2022. The festival returned in October 2022.

Queen of the Oktoberfest

A Queen of Oktoberfest is chosen every year. There are 10 candidates, who must compete wearing costumes in the categories of posture, resourcefulness on the catwalk, communication skills, beauty, and friendliness. If there are more than 10 candidates, there is a pre-selection. The first 3 are classified; the 1st place is elected as the Queen of Oktoberfest, followed by the 1st and 2nd Princess of Oktoberfest.

National Competition of Chopp in Meter Drinkers

The National Competition of Chopp in Meter Drinkers is a competition that takes place during the event. By its rules, the competitor has to drink one meter of beer (600ml tulip) without drooling or taking the tulip off the mouth, the winner being whoever drinks in the least amount of time. Each night of the competition there is a winner, and at the end of the event it is known who has the fastest time on all days of competition in the two suits, male and female.

References

External links

Oktoberfest Blumenau (in Portuguese)
{{Coord, 26, 54, 55.68, S, 49, 5, 2.54, W, display=title Blumenau Folk festivals in Brazil German-Brazilian culture

Tourist attractions in Santa Catarina (state) Beer festivals in Brazil Cultural festivals in Brazil Festivals established in 1984