São Paulo – Here is an option of a short trip, one day only, very close to São Paulo, but capable to make your weekend lighter, more pleasant and prettier. Up until September 25th, Holambra, 140 kilometres away from São Paulo, is hosting the 30th edition of Expoflora, the leading flower and plant fair in Latin America. Located in a farm and covering 250,000 square metres, the event’s highlight is the exhibition of various flower arrangements spread throughout the pavilions. But there is much more to it, because there you can buy plants to bring home with you, taste typical dishes of Dutch cuisine (widely present in the city) and at the end of the day you can witness a rain of rose petals that is sure to entertain visitors of all ages.
The best thing to enjoy the trip is to leave early from São Paulo and set aside one entire day to walk around the event, which opens at 9:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm, from Thursdays to Sundays. Activities are galore. Aside from the farm vibe in itself and the beauty of being surrounded by flowers on all sides, there are many exhibition pavilions to check out.
One of the missions of Expoflora, a shop window for the industry, is to launch trends in arrangement creation, among others, featuring ideas that can often be replicated at home. Pallets are used as decoration, bottles are reused as vases, and combinations abound. In this year’s edition, the main bet is in flowers with strong colours, such as variations in red, from the lightest to the darkest, and even purple.
Once you have seen it all, how about setting an hour aside for a tour of Holambra? Many buses leave from the event itself. The city is small, with only 11,000 inhabitants, and is the National Flower Capital, a title granted officially this year by means of Act 12,428/2011, sanctioned by the president Dilma Rousseff. The honour is justified: the municipality is the leading producer and seller of ornamental flowers and plants in Brazil, with a 35% share in these two sectors.
Thus, in this rose-oriented vibe, the city tour includes a visit to the natural-sized windmill and to a flower farm. Add to that many stories on Dutch immigration to the region which will be told along the way. After World War 2, seeking better opportunities, Dutch citizens came to Brazil because the country accepted group immigration. It was thus that men and women of Dutch origin established themselves in this area of the interior of São Paulo. They made Holambra into the garden of good business that the city is today.
Sweets and shopping
Back at the fair, pause for lunch with a European accent. Or else those fast food options that usually appeal to most, such as pizza and hamburger. At Expoflora there are two food courts comprising 16 snack bars and seven restaurants.
No matter what the main course will be, you must try a typical Dutch sweet for dessert. At the bakeries in the event, trry a stroopwafel, which is a waffle made from cane molasses and cinammon, or the frisse roos, a Dutch flower-flavoured cream (to tell the truth, the rose-based options are not that flavourful, but are an experience nonetheless. Not to mention that the sweets are so beautiful that they deserve tasting).
Time for shopping. Inside the fair, the Garden Center is a sort of flower and plant supermarket, with large carts to accommodate the myriad vases that you will want to take home.
Place your order
To wrap up the day, one of the main attractions of Expoflora: the petal rain. To those who have never been there, it may seem a bit silly to love seeing petals and more petals of roses being thrown everywhere, in a vast open area of the farm. But when it comes down to it, it really is quite fun. No one resists the temptation to catch at least one of them in the air, before it hits the ground. According to a local legend, those who can are entitled a wish. Which will, of course, come true. Anyway, 150 kilograms of petals are thrown a day, or 18,000 roses, so visitors may get their chance. Charmed with so many flowers and plants, they will return home hoping for better days to come. Why not?
Service
30th Expoflora
Up until September 25th, from Thursdays to Sundays
Time: 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
Where: Holambra, SP 340, Campinas-Mogi Mirim Road, Exit 140
Tickets: 28 reals (US$ 17). Admittance free for children five or younger
Information: (+55 19) 3802-1421
Website: http://www.expoflora.com.br/
Email: contato@expoflora.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
