Food, music, arts, kids’ activities and more bring two of Somerville’s largest communities together

Somerville’s Haitian and Brazilian communities are coming together for “Haiti and Brazil Hit The ‘Ville,” a cultural festival on Sunday, Aug. 24 featuring music, dance, food, family-friendly activities and more for the entire community, hosted by the Somerville Arts Council’s ArtsUnion Project in partnership with the City of Somerville and SomerVIVA, the City’s language liaisons program.

The festival will take place on Sunday, Aug. 24 from 2-7 p.m. on the Union Square Plaza, bringing together two of the largest groups within the wider Somerville community that are both served by the SomerVIVA program. Music by a Haitian konpa band and renowned Brazilian band Samba de Tres will fill the square—with a musical surprise at the festival’s close—as festival goers feast on traditional foods such as Haitiian fritay and Brazillian churrasco, purchase handmade crafts, and watch performances of Brazilian jiu jit su, Haitian poetry and drumming by city of Cambridge poet laureate Jean Danny Joachim.

The city’s Haitian and Brazilian communities have much in common beyond Somerville, with a budding relationship building over the past two decades between two countries that both celebrate Carnaval. Haiti has a love of Brazilian soccer sparked by a 1978 visit by legendary player Pelé to Haiti, while the Brazilian-penned song “Haiti é Aqui” captures the significance of Haiti’s history to Brazilians. The largest contingent of United Nations soldiers deployed to the stabilization mission in Haiti are Brazilian, while a large number of Haitian migrants live in Brazil, which was the first country to contribute to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund after the 2010 earthquake that devastated the nation.

The rain location for the festival is Somerville High School, 93 Highland Ave. For more information about the festival, contact Jhenny Saint-Surin at jsaintsurin@somervillema.gov or 617-625-6600 ext. 2622.