The Portuguese Festa (fes-tah) is about food, have you ever been to a Festa? Today in a small town called, Princeton in California, there is a Portuguese Festa. It takes place each year on the last Sunday of June. My family with many other Portuguese families, in the area, help put it together. The Portuguese Festa is a tradition dating back to Queen Isabella of Aragon, Portugal. It is a celebration of faith, of thanksgiving and tradition.
The Princeton Portuguese Festa expects to feed between 800 to 1200 people. Have you ever cooked food for that many people? It is a sight to behold. The preparations for the two meals starts four days before the Festa in and around the Princeton Portuguese Hall.
The meat (beef) is raised, butchered and donated by local Portuguese farmers. The sopas, and potato salad are prepared by hand. It is a staggering amount of chopped cabbage, garlic, sliced onions, diced eggs, deboning meat, peeled potatoes… Slicing the French bread alone was more bread then I have ever cut in my life and I live in the land of French bread!
It is a family affair, everyone helps out, the sense of community is abundant, the work involved doesn’t seem like work because of the camanderie gained.
Tradition continues by passing on labor as love.
Photos: The preparation for the festa, sopas, preparing the meat, slicing the bread and gathering the sweet bread.
Recipes, photos and details of the Portuguese Festa celebration tomorrow… I am off to preparing for Sunday’s feast!
Everyone is welcomed to come to the meal on Sunday afternoon.
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