Date: January 20th This festival commemorates the patron saint of the city. A procession carries his image from the Igreja de Sao Sebastiao dos Capuchinos in Tijuca to the Catedral Metropolitana. When it arrives at the Catedral it is blessed in a Mass celebrated by the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro.
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Date: January 20th This festival commemorates the patron saint of the city. A procession carries his image from the Igreja de Sao Sebastiao dos Capuchinos in Tijuca to the Catedral Metropolitana. When it arrives at the Catedral it is blessed in a Mass celebrated by the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro.
Date: March 1st This festival celebrates the founding of the city by Estacio de Sa in 1565, with a Mass in the church of its patron saint Sao Sebastiao.
Date: March or April Celebrated throughout the city, this festival is all about Good Friday. A re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross under the Arcos do Lapa is carried out by more than 100 actors.
Date: officially from the Friday to the Tuesday preceding Lent (Ash Wednesday is the close of the festival) This festival is what you come to Rio for!
Date: one weekend in March and November Portas Albertas is a semi-annual festival where the artists of Saint Teresa open their studios to the public and neighbourhoods become living art installations. Dates vary so stop by the Cama e Cafe or Parque das Ruinas for current information.
The June Festival is considered to be one of the most important folkloric festivals in Brazil. In Rio it is celebrated in many public squares, primarily on June 13th at the Dia de Santo Antonio, June 24th at Dio de Sao Joao and June 29th Dia de Sao Pedro.
Date: July 13th The patron saint of fishing is commemorated by the fishing community here. A marine procession starts at the fishing district of Caju and decorated boats proceed to the statue of Sao Pedro in Urca.
Date: August 15th The festivities for this event start at 8am and continue all day as people gather at the Igreja de NS da Gloria do Outeiro to attend mass marking the Feast of Assumption. There is a procession in the streets of Gloria and music and colourful stalls are set in the Praca NS da Gloria.
Date: September 7th Brazil’s Independence Day is celebrated in Rio with a big military procession down Av Presidente Vargas. Beginning at 8am at Candelaria, it goes past Praca Onze, north of the Sambodroma.
Date: September and October Over 200 international films from over 35 countries are shown at this film festival which is the biggest in Latin America. Running for 15 days straight, it goes from the last week of September until the first week of October.
Dates vary annually for this event which features 3 night of international and national musicians playing a wide variety of music, not just jazz.
Date: October and November Taking place every Sunday in October and the first Sunday in November, this is one of the most popular religious festivals in the city. The venue is the Igreja NS da Penha de Franca, Largo da Penha 19 in Penha.
Date: December 31st New Year’s Eve (Reveillon) in Rio is second only to Carnaval in terms of revelry and the millions of people who attend and participate. Massive firework displays explode over the skies of the beaches in Copacabana as New Year’s coincides with the festival of Iemanja, the sea goddess. Devotees wear white and carry a statue of the goddess to the beach and launch flowers and offerings into the sea.