May 2011 - Taste of Rio Charity Event

Normally I'll only be adding information about events specific to Rio das ostras, but I'm making an exception in this case. If you haven't already heard about it, go check it out. The International Club of Rio de Janeiro is hosting the Taste of Rio event in the beautiful Clube Federal in Alto Leblon. Click here for information and ticket sales.

It looks like a fantastic event and worth the trip into Rio.

April 2011 - 19th Anniversary of Rio das Ostras Independence

Preparations have already begun for the nineteenth anniversary of the Political Administrative Emancipation of Rio das Ostras (April 10), which will be celebrated with an extensive lineup between April 8th to the 11th with a parade, free concerts, sports competition and other events.

Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11pm, and Sunday at 9pm there will be free concerts performed at Camping Costazil. 

The Memorial Parade will take place on Saturday, the 9th at 9am, on Avenida Amazonas in Centro. Participants will be local schools, government departments and entities of civil society organizations.

Where to Buy Havaianas

There are loads of stores in town which sell "Havaianas" for cheap. I found out from a friend recently that they're probably "Paraguay", which has become synonymous with "counterfit" and "garbage", so I asked here for the lowdown on the good stuff.


Turns out there are two places in town where you can be sure to get real, quality Havaianas.

April 2011 - Classic Cars of Rio das Ostras

What?  II Classic Ostras - A gathering of vintage and collectible cars in  Rio das Ostras.
Where?  Lagoa de Iriry
When?  April 17th, 2011 from 9am to 5pm.
How much?  Participation and observation are FREE.

Along with the classic cars, there will be music from the 60's, 70's and 80's playing during the event, an exhibition of miniature classic cars, giveaways, and even a presentation of  the Rio das Ostras Jazz & Blues festival, known internationally by lovers of Jazz and Blues music.

May 2011 - Musical Group - Strada da Terra

The alternative, reggae and soul musical group from Rio de Janeiro "Strada da Terra" will perform in at the Festa Fechada in Rio das ostras at Praia da Joana on Saturday May 21st, 2011 at 5pm.

Praia da Joana is between Boca de Barra at Praia do cemitario, and virgin beach. From the map it looks like it is very near the southewestern end of Av. Costa Azul.

Photo from Diário Riostrense blog.

March 2011 - XVI Ostrascycle-Motorcycle rally in Costazul

This weekend, starting today (Thursday, March 24th) through Sunday the 27th there is a motorcycle rally in Costazul, which will include a delegation from Daytona in the United States.


This will be a huge event. The prefecture expects more than twenty five thousand motorcyclists this year.

There will be an area with over 65 vendor tents available for the public.

Teatro Popular de Rio das Ostras

Rio das Ostras has a little theater above the library. They have no website, but occasionally Blog Fala Rio das Ostras posts an up coming (or current) show. The theater seats about 100 people, but when the crowd overflowed the available seats during our last visit they just busted out more chairs and squeezed another fifty or so in the room.

The theater is on Av. Amazonas in Centro, on the same street as the flea market and in the same building as the local library (go up the ramp on the side of the building).

Learn to Speak Portuguese - Private Classes With Rosangela

My strong suggestion is that you learn at least a little bit of Portuguese before you arrive in Brazil. Most communities in the US have adult education classes available, which you can find with some Google time. Take a class, and carry a small dictionary. Having my little dictionary in my purse has been handy at the grocery store, for example the time I forgot how to say "hamburger" (carne moida).

Once you are here, keep taking classes. Not only will you find it easier to navigate your new world, your instructor can give you an invaluable window into Brazilian culture.