People in costumes of every kind, including flappers, fishermen and French maids, came out Saturday night in downtown Ames. It wasn’t a belated Halloween celebration — it was the Brazilian Carnival.

Carnival, sponsored by the ISU Brazilian-Portuguese Association, offered more than 250 people a long night of cultural dancing and a costume contest. Traditional Carnival involves parties, dances and parades.

The actual Brazilian Carnival is similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and occurs 40 days before Easter.

Even though the celebration in some parts of Brazil has people partying for as long as seven days, the Ames version lasted less than seven hours, from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m.

“It’s not a structured party,” said Rogerio Borges, president of the Brazilian-Portuguese Association. “It is just a friendly atmosphere.”

The Zone, 125 Main St., was decorated with hundreds of balloons and streamers of all colors. Pictures, masks and Brazilian flags covered the walls in an effort to recreate Carnival for the participants.

For Mine Ozbek, graduate student in agronomy, this was her third Carnival celebration. Ozbek, who is originally from Turkey, enjoyed the relaxed environment of the party.

“I like it because it’s original. This party is different than any other party,” said Ozbek, who was dressed as a Spanish dancer, wearing a gold and red ruffled skirt with a fake fruit basket on her head. “The Brazilians are very free people. You can do whatever you feel. Just be crazy.”

One of the major events of the night was the costume contest. Trophies were awarded in four different categories. Best Individual, Best Group, Most Original and Most Outgoing Dancer trophies were decided by a panel of six people.

Alex Montgomery and Marcio Campos, students at the University of Kansas turned some heads when they entered The Zone. The two men came as if they were still in the shower, complete with curtain, shower rail and faucet and Brazilian flags as their towels.

“We thought of the idea when we were walking to Wal-Mart. It cost us $30 to make it and took three hours to construct,” Montgomery said. “We’ll share the prize.”

Susan Johnson, sophomore in microbiology, attended her first Carnival Saturday night because she wanted to express her creative side. Johnson, dressed in a string and feather top and a light purple, long satin skirt, described her homemade costume as “rain forest woman.”

“This type of party is never seen at Iowa State. The costume is a great chance to express my creative side,” Johnson said.

Brazilian dancing done to uptempo music, especially the samba, was demonstrated by natives and attempted by many others.

“People at the party were so open to the environment and the music. Most had never heard it before. The dances are easy to do. Just relax and go with it,” Borges said.

Borges said he was very pleased with the diverse crowd at Carnival.

“There was about 35 Brazilians, 15 who have visited or lived in Brazil and 200 who this was something new to them,” Borges said. “Half an hour later, you couldn’t tell them apart. They got into it quickly.”

Borges added there were no complaints or trouble at the party.

“The biggest problem at the beginning was that we had sold out and had to turn people away [who wanted to buy tickets],” Borges said.