Brazil celebrates its children on October 12th. It's the National Children's Day, and all over the country parties and toys are shared. Following the tradition, the Atlanta Brazil Rotary Club hosted a Children's day festival at East Cobb Park, in Marietta, to celebrate the Brazilian culture and heritage with more than 70 kids - first and second generation Brazilias, who live in GA. Entrance was free and fun was guaranteed.

Volunteers dressed up as the cast of classic Brazilian Children's Literature novel series - Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo (or the Yellow Woodpecker's Grange) by Author Monteiro Lobato, and welcome the children to take pictures, have a brief meet and greet and reenact a short story form one of the original chapters of the book.

The afternoon was all about entertainment and immersion on Brazilian culture. Games, face-painting, art stations and a singing circle and storytelling - all in Portuguese - something for every kid at every age. All attendees got Brazilian snacks - delicious bags of cheese-bread (a yummy Brazilian treat) and brigadeiros. From check-in to snacks and clean-up duty, all work was done by Rotarians and volunteers with a common goal: keeping Brazilian heritage alive within the Brazilian-Americans of Georgia, and also improving their bilingualism. The majority of the event was presented in Portuguese, which was celebrated as the heritage language.

Although the children might not know it yet, the most important part of that day, was in fact not the bouncy castle or the cheese-bread, but keeping Brazilian culture alive, by learning a little bit about it everyday.