Seattle Center Festal Presents BrasilFest on a Bassa-Nova Theme 8/15

Seattle Center Festál: BrasilFest presents the lively world of Brazilian arts and culture, Sunday, August 15, 12 noon - 8 p.m., in Center House and Mural Amphitheatre.

The festival fills Seattle Center with a sultry display of South American soul, Brazilian style, and celebrates Brazilian cultural diversity through traditional and contemporary expressions. The festival features continuous music, dance and performance, from Capoeira demonstrations and Samba workshops to children's activities (mask-making, painting), Brazilian instruments, arts and crafts, photo exhibits and films.

The 2010 BrasilFest theme is Bossa-Nova, a Brazilian musical style popularized internationally by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto. The Bossa-Nova movement in Brazil lasted from 1958-1963 and it contributed significantly to standard jazz repertoire.

This year's guest performer is Jonathan Patterson, also known as "Capital" from California, who will perform and conduct a "Bossa-Nova" workshop. Capital has studied Bossa-Nova for years and is a highly acclaimed performer and recording artist on classical guitar.

The 22 Festál cultural celebrations highlight The Common forms of tradition and expression among ethnic communities in the Pacific Northwest, while underscoring their unique creative contributions, customs, foods and ideals. Our 2010 "did you know" will explore some of these commonalities and differences.

Did you know? The colors of the culture are green, yellow, blue and white, the colors of the Brazilian flag. The most popular foods are Feijoada, a typical Portuguese bean stew with beef and pork is considered the national dish of Brazil, along with Moqueca de Peixe, a traditional seafood stew that Brazilians have been making for 300 years. Soccer and music create the grestest source of cultural pride. The livelihood in this country comes from developed agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors - and is expanding its presence in world markets.

Seattle Center Festál: BrasilFest is presented by Seattle Center in partnership with the Brazil Center, Show Brazil Productions and the Ethnic Heritage Council. For a full event schedule, visit www.brasilfest.com, and for more information on this cultural series and other Seattle Center programming, click on www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call 206 684-7200.

About Seattle Center Festál

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 world festivals presented at Seattle Center on weekends throughout 2010, highlights the distinct cultures and common threads of ethnic communities in our region through traditional and contemporary art, music, foods, youth activities, workshops and more. This collection of cultural events is produced with the generous support of Wells Fargo, Verizon Wireless and KUOW 94.9 Public Radio. Additional support is provided by Seattle Center Foundation and the City of Seattle.

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