São Paulo – The seventh edition of Campinas Café Festival (Campinas Coffee Festival), a part of this year’s Gastronomy Festival of Campinas and Region, will bring Arab culture closer to the local people. The event’s main attraction will be a train ride on August 23rd in which passengers will taste Arab delicacies and watch a coffee-themed Arab dance performance. The Campinas Coffee Festival is held by Instituto Jerusalém, an organization that carries out Arab-related projects in Brazil.
The event is held annually and the program is varied. This year, the gastronomy festival in Campinas has already featured Chef na Praça (Chef on the Square), where various food stands, including an Arab one, were set up on the local square, and Cozinha Show (Show Cooking), a performance where several dishes were made, including sfihas in the style of Baalbek, Lebanon, says Instituto Jerusalém superintendent and Campinas coffee Festival coordinator Ali El-Khatib.
The train ride will wrap up the event, which opened on July 20th. The program featured courses, workshops, debates about food and discount dishes at 32 restaurants in the area. The train, owned by the Brazilian Railway Preservation Association, will depart from Campinas and stop in Jaguariúna. The ride will begin with breakfast and explanations about the railway’s history, stories about trains and coffee, a concert by violeiros (Brazilian viola players) and tastings of sfihas, rolls, Arab sweets and fruit.
At the station in Jaguariúna, passengers will watch a performance by Orquestra de Violeiros do Jaguary (the Jaguary Brazilian Viola Orchestra) and a coffee-themed Arab dance performance by the teacher Aida Gamal. While dancing, Gamal will gesture as if she were offering coffee to the audience. The ride will also include raffles of prizes such as dinners at restaurants and hotel stays, among others. The total cost is R$ 140 per person (US$ 61 at current exchange rates).
The goal of the Campinas Coffee Festival is to connect Arab culture and coffee, since the Arab countries were largely responsible for popularizing the beverage. Proof of that is the fact that one of the most widely consumed varieties in the world is called Arabica. According to El-Khatib, Brazil is the leading Arabica coffee-consuming country in the world. The Instituto Jerusalém superintendent notes that coffee has the power to bring people together. “The results are infinite,” he says of whenever coffee is served at meetings, whatever their purpose is – business, tourism or even at home.
The Campinas Coffee Festival is sponsored by Instituto Jerusalém and the Campinas State University (Unicamp) and its Pró-Reitoria de Extensão e Assuntos Comunitários (Preac – Office for Extension and Community Affairs), and the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc). The event is co-sponsored by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Campinas and Region Convention &Visitors Bureau.
Service:
Maria Fumaça 505 Train Ride
August 23rd from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
From Campinas to Jaguariúna – state of São Paulo
Information and tickets: cafenotrem@gmail.com – (+55 19) 99774 2015
Price: R$ 140 (US$ 61 at current exchange rates)
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
