#CarnavalYEG Blog by Cheryl Cottrell-Smith
Carnaval YEG offers a Brazilian-inspired feast of local goods
Cheryl Cottrell-Smith
The best part about Edmonton’s culture is that it’s completely multi-faceted, pulling from all areas of society and showcasing talent and skill from all walks of life.
Creative Edmonton’s Carnaval event was just such a testament to the unique range of Edmonton’s culture. While the name suggests a Brazilian-style festival, Carnaval offered much more than boa-adorned dancers and delicious Caipirinha cocktails (although these were both great).
Carnaval, or #CarnavalYEG for tweeps, offered guests a taste of Brazil alongside the chance to browse and celebrate local entrepreneurs, creators, and small businesses. Set up in a pop-up market style in the midst of the Edmonton Petroleum Club, the event provided an evening of music, artwork, socializing, and some very tasty treats.
Attendees spent time sampling the chocolate couture of JACEK, admiring the artwork of Adrianne Olszewski, purchasing stunning pieces from Jolanda Thomas’ Insomniac Jewellery, scoring sweet swag at Jennie Marshall’s Yelp Edmonton booth, or browsing the razor-sharp wares of Knifewear Edmonton, amongst many other vendors.
The event, which took place between 6:30pm and midnight on Friday, May 16th, was the latest in Creative Edmonton’s pop-up market-style trade shows, which aim to debut and showcase locally-operated businesses and artists within the Edmonton community.
For $15, guests gained access to a wide variety of local and handmade goods, live local music, some excellent dance performances, door prizes, a photo booth, and a Queen of the Carnaval contest. Each room had a cash bar available and the Petroleum Club’s Cellar Lounge was open to anyone looking for a heartier meal. And, of course, Kim and Steve from YEGTweetup held down the fort by helping with the event set-up, hosting a Twitter contest, and generally just being awesome.
The Carnaval’s Queen was crowned later on in the evening—of five lovely ladies, local musician Andrea Willson won the title after a round of questioning and the final judging. Andrea writes and performs her own music frequently throughout the city and loves to be involved in a variety of musical projects. As the winner of the Queen of the Carnaval contest, she won a package to the NVE Institute of Phyto-aroma Cosmetology Organic Day Spa. Congratulations, Andrea!
After an evening of tasty delights, stunning personalities, and a full schedule of events, Carnaval-goers left feeling satisfied and, more often than not, with bags chock-full of locally-made goodies.
On behalf of YEGTweetup and the Carnaval guests, we’d like to thank Creative Edmonton and Sonya Ghalehdar for hosting such a great event and for letting us be a part of their pop-up market culture. We look forward to the next event and we hope to see you all there!
