By Sarah Brown, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Saturday, October 8th, Feira do Lavradio, also known as Feira do Rio Antigo, will celebrate twenty years of bringing together some of Rio’s best handicrafts and antiques in Rio’s Centro neighborhood. Normally, the popular fair takes place on the first weekend of each month, but due to municipal elections falling on Sunday, October 2nd, this month, the fair and the celebrations will take place on Saturday, October 8th.
Feira do Lavradio provides a space for more than four hundred exhibitors and businesses to come together and present their products to the thirty thousand visitors that pass through the stretch of stores and stalls on Rua do Lavradio each month. It is famously known to sell antiques and vintage items, yet the street is also studded with bookstores and handicraft stalls.
Its popularity among locals and tourists alike encouraged the celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of one of Rio’s most beloved fairs. The Polo Novo Rio Antigo Association will pay tribute to Augusto Ivan and Danuza Leão, the godfathers of the fair who have been responsible for its success over the last two decades.
The tribute will include a traditional Brazilian birthday song from Paulinho Mocidade, a Brazilian samba singer, who will take to the stage in front of praça Emilinha Borba at 4PM. Paulinho has taken samba to more than twenty different countries, demonstrating his international success as a singer.
His work as a composer is also highly regarded with his songs being recorded by Emílio Santiago, Dona Ivone Lara, Mestre Marçal, Seu Jorge, Ana Carolina, Dudu Nobre, Dorina, Marcelinho Moreira, Roberta Sá, Monobloco, among others. Paulinho has just released the sixth album in his career, Meu Negocio é Cantar Samba (My Business is to Sing Samba) which is the result of a collaboration with Martinho da Vila and a special appearance from Wilson Moreira.
The fair will take place in the traditional spot of Rua Lavradio, one of the oldest regions in the city. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the area that should satisfy most preferences, often nestled in between old buildings that were constructed when Brazil was a colony of Portugal.
What: Feira do Lavradio
When: Saturday, October 8th all day with a show from Paulinho Mocidade at 4PM.
Where: R. do Lavradio, 28 – Centro – Tel: (21) 2224-6693
Entrance: FREE
Correction: The article has been corrected since it was originally published on September 28th to clarify that the Feira do Lavradio will actually take place on Saturday, October 8th, not Sunday as previously stated.