São João Multicultural: the city's biggest June gastronomic festival

João Pessoa's São João brings together street vendors, typical foods and shows at Parque Solon de Lucena.

The São João Multicultural is the main gastronomic and cultural festival on João Pessoa's annual calendar. The 2025 edition was launched with more than 60 attractions spread across the Center, the waterfront and the city's neighborhoods, including major forró names at Parque Solon de Lucena, downtown, between May 10 and June 29.

As part of the organization, the City Hall, through the Urban Development Department (Sedurb), opens registration for street vendors interested in selling typical June foods during the event at Parque Solon de Lucena, formalizing the presence of corn, canjica, cakes and quentão stands at the festival.

Investment in the event also grows year by year: for the 2026 edition, the City Hall confirmed a R$ 2.3 million contribution to the São João Multicultural, a 20% increase over the previous year, with the opening set for June 19 featuring shows by Ranniery Gomes and Banda Cascavel.

The festival thus serves as the capital's biggest showcase of typical Northeastern food during the year, concentrating in a few weeks of June dishes and sweets that, during the rest of the year, appear more scattered around the city.