The origin of Carnaval comes from the tradition that no parties are to be held during Lent. The holiday is was sort of like a final celebration. In these modern times Carnaval gives us a chance to shed our normal for a while and just hang loose and have fun. Its a time for family a friends to stay up all night and drink a little more than usual.

Its not just food and booze though- in Madeira you will find local dance and music schools performing in the main parade held on the 21st this year. The music is spectacular and the dancing is beautiful. Amazing costumes and dresses make the dancing all the more exciting. Those not participating in the main parade can join in the fun the on the 24th when they have the Peoples Parade. Be sure to be there and have a good laugh with fun costumes and music.

My only hope for this year is that it doesnt rain like last year. See you there.

Like most malls of the world (the Christian parts anyway), U.S. malls have plenty of holiday lights and a little Santa house where kids can go and tell Santa what to bring them for Christmas. The actual appearance of Santa isn’t so spectacular though, a regular guy walks in and 20 minutes later he walks out way fatter and dressed like Santa. Madeira takes things to the next level by having Santa (Pai Natal) and his helpers repel from the roof of the 4 story shopping center through a dangerous light display.

Could only be cooler with guns

Each week during the holiday season brings a new and exciting activity to the shopping centers. Never mind the 22ºC weather, Forum does its customers right with an artificial ice rink.

Ice Rink from 2007

The only thing I wasn’t too keen on was the release of hundreds of balloons to celebrate Santa’s arrival. They were not filled with helium and Forum has an excellent cleaning staff but it just seemed odd considering Forum just won an environmental award.

Kids waiting in line

to see the man himself

Santa Clause!

5. Havana Club – São Vicente

Havana could be your first stop this Halloween, it’s a good club and will have DJ Fabini doing his thing. Also Fridays from the 31st of Oct to the 10th of November are Ladies Nights, ladies get a free drink or two.

4. El Mexicano Restaurante – Funchal

The Mexicano will be in on the Halloween action as well but to what extent remains to be seen. If you’re looking for a fairly laid back atmosphere the Mexicano may be for you. The restaurant has Mexican-ish decorations and color scheme going on and very friendly staff. The food and margaritas are good too.

3. GUGAS – Ajuda

Gugas is another laid back snack bar/restaurante with an outdoor patio. Halloween night they will have beers from 0.30ȼ – €1. Gugas is located in front of Madeira Magic.

2. Copacabana, Casino da Madeira – Funchal

The Copacabana is one of my favorite clubs in Funchal. It is a club located at the bottom of the Casino and has a nice dark underground feel to it with lots of room for dancing. This Halloween they pull out all the stops with live music from Banadaz’inha with Cristina Barbosa as lead vocals. There will be lots of photographers snapping up pics for the casino’s album and as always- good music to get your groove on.

1. Vespas/Jam – Funchal

If for some reason you can only make it 2 one of the places on this list, Vespas better be it. Antennae 3 will be “IN DA CLUB” to doing their Halloween episode for the station that will feature 30 zombies. Expect the usual awesome beats spun by DJ OXY and some remixed classics like MJ’s “Thriller” and hopefully DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s  “Nightmare on My Street”.

Curral das Freiras will celebrate this day with the 21st Annual Festa da Castanha/Chestnut Festival. Traditional music and dances will be performed and visitors can sample roasted chestnuts served by the various vendors in this small town. These chestnuts are hand picked and dry roasted with salt, making the perfect hot snack for this time of year. For those watching your weight this time of year you can relax a bit knowing castanhas contain very little fat and are chock full of vitamins C and B6 and are also a good source of potassium. If nuts aren’t your thing there are many other seasonal foods to sample at the Chestnut Festival- sopa de trigo/wheat soup, apples, pears, and other locally grown produce.

View from the lookout above Boca da Corrida

The holiday of Todos os Santos is a day for honoring all saints, known and unknown. Children celebrate Todos os Santos as Pão-por-deus. Pão-por-deus is like the opposite of America’s Halloween, here children venture out in groups and recite versus from the good book and sing songs to receive bread (pão), dried fruits, and chestnuts. I personally prefer this to the corporation controlled tradition of making or buying expensive costumes and candy, then having ungrateful children show up on my doorstep demanding candy.

View from above of Curral das Freiras

Anyways now you have a place to be on November 1st and a day off from work. See you there.

The event begins Sunday afternoon with a parade of bands through Ribeira Brava’s main road closest to the water. It will be hard to since it is the one with beautiful floral arrangements hung across the road. After the parade the bands will each perform for about 10 minutes in Ribeira Brava’s Marginal- a big beautiful gazebo covered in lights.

The evening will conclude with all bands collaborating in a grand finale with trophies and bouquets distributed to the winners of this grand musical contest. Toasts will be made and a grand time will be had by all. See you there.

UPDATE – Oct, 13 2008

Only a couple photos and one video from this event. Poorly quality images and video, it may be time for a new camera.

The best part of these events in my opinion is the food. Espetada is the most popular dish in these events, followed by Bolo do Caco, BBQ chicken and of course the typical home made wine. Delicious!!!!

After you’ve built up an appetite by going from house to house enjoying the various homemade wines, find a place selling the best meat and get it ready on a stick (yes, a stick). Some houses will have the meat to sell, once you get your meat its time to BBQ. You will by this time have noticed the open fires in the area, you’ll be sharing one of these with other people. Take this opportunity to meet others and have some interesting conversations(especially if you don’t speak Portuguese. Many of the people you meet will have travelled around the island and know when and where all the good festivals. Talk to them and find out what you will be doing next week!