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Popular festival · Campina Grande
Campina Grande’s June festival, in the Agreste of Paraíba, which fills Parque do Povo for about a month with forró shows, quadrilhas, bonfires and corn-based foods.
In the photo: Campina Grande
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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São João de Campina Grande — Campina Grande
For about a month, from late May or early June until late June or early July, with the high points on the eves of Saint Anthony (June 13), Saint John (June 24) and Saint Peter (June 29).
May/June/July
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Campina Grande, in the Agreste of Paraíba, calls its June festival The Biggest São João in the World. The event was created by the city government in 1983 and grew into one of the most famous popular festivals in the Northeast, competing for the title of the country’s largest São João with Caruaru, in Pernambuco. For about a month, the city revolves around forró and Junine traditions that celebrate Saint Anthony, Saint John and Saint Peter.
The heart of the festival is Parque do Povo, downtown, a large open area with a main stage, traditional forró islands, food stalls, a scenographic town that recreates façades of old Campina Grande and the Forró Pyramid. The streets are decorated with colorful pennants, and the nights feature forró, xote and baião shows, from accordion, zabumba and triangle trios to well-known artists.
The program goes beyond the park. There are quadrilha festivals, with groups that rehearse all year and perform in elaborate costumes; the collective wedding, a Junine tradition; and trips to nearby districts, like the forró train to the Galante district. On Saint John’s nights, many families light bonfires in front of their homes and set off fireworks.
The climate of the Borborema Highlands, with cooler nights than the coast, helps the festivities. For those who want to experience a Northeastern São João, Campina Grande offers live music every night, typical food and the atmosphere of an entire city focused on the celebration.
The nights at Parque do Povo, especially the night of June 23–24 and June 28–29. The traditional forró islands. A quadrilha performance. The forró train ride to the districts, when included in the program.
Weekends and the eves of the saints are the busiest nights; on weekdays the park is quieter. Parque do Povo is downtown: staying there avoids nighttime travel. Bring a light jacket for the evenings. Quadrilha-style clothing, like plaid shirts and straw hats, is common among attendees. Check the official schedule, released by the city government before the festival.
Roasted and boiled corn, pamonha, canjica, mungunzá, cuscuz, pé de moleque, tapioca and corn cakes; sun-dried beef with macaxeira and grilled queijo coalho; and quentão.
Accommodation in Campina Grande sells out in June weeks, especially around June 24. Book several months in advance, or stay in João Pessoa, about a two-hour drive away, and go up the highlands only on the busiest nights.
In the city
May/June/July
May/JuneOn the days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter; therefore it falls in May or June.
Paraty’s most traditional religious festival, with a novena, processions through the historic center, a solemn Mass and a Sunday Pentecost procession.
May/JuneAround Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter, in May or June; the Cavalhadas begin on Pentecost Sunday and last three days.
The Holy Spirit Festival of the historic town of Pirenópolis, in Goiás, featuring folias (devotional bands), masses, masked horsemen and the Cavalhadas, an equestrian reenactment of the battle between Christians and Moors.
May/JuneThroughout June, with programming that usually starts in late May or early June and ends around the feast of Saint Peter on June 29; the highlight is the night before Saint John’s Day.
The June festival of Caruaru, in the Agreste of Pernambuco, the Forró Capital, with concerts at the Pátio de Eventos Luiz Gonzaga, traditional forró (forró pé de serra) at Alto do Moura, and oversized corn-based dishes.
Your questions
For about a month, between late May or early June and late June or early July. The busiest nights are the eves of Saint John and Saint Peter. The city government announces each edition’s schedule.
At Parque do Povo, in the city center, with a main stage, forró islands, food stalls and a scenographic town. There is also programming in neighborhoods and districts.
Both cities claim the title. Campina Grande calls its festival The Biggest São João in the World, and Caruaru, in Pernambuco, also stakes a similar claim with a comparable slogan.
Festivals and events in Brazil
June/JulyBetween late June and early July, always including June 29, German Settler Day, a municipal holiday in Petrópolis.
Petrópolis’s German Settler festival, featuring traditional German food and beer, folk dance groups, and events around the Crystal Palace.
June/SeptemberEvery two years, in odd-numbered years; usually in September, sometimes in June. · Every two years
Rio de Janeiro’s major book fair, held every two years, with publisher booths, author events and programming for children and young people.
JuneDuring the June festival cycle: the bulls are baptized on June 23 and the cycle ends on June 30, the day of Saint Marçal; performances may continue into July.
São Luís’s São João, centered on the bumba-meu-boi and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage element: groups of different accents perform in arraiais across the city, with toadas, matracas, zabumbas and embroidered bulls.
June/July/AugustIn July, for about a month, sometimes starting in late June and ending in early August.
Campos do Jordão classical music festival in the Mantiqueira Range, with orchestra and chamber music concerts at the Claudio Santoro Auditorium and other city venues, plus a training program for young musicians.
JuneOn the last weekend of June, over three consecutive nights, from Friday to Sunday.
The rivalry between the Garantido (red) and Caprichoso (blue) bumba-meu-boi groups at the Bumbódromo in Parintins, an island on the Amazon River: three nights of toadas, giant floats and Amazonian legends.
July/AugustIn the second half of July, for about two weeks, sometimes ending in the first days of August.
Joinville Dance Festival, in northern Santa Catarina, featuring competitive showcases of ballet, contemporary dance, jazz and folk dances at the Centreventos Cau Hansen and open stages spread across the city.