The Portuguese Festa

                   

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[le petit cabinet de curiosites]

I'm the 1st at the festa ! This one I won't miss

[herhimnbryn]

Oh, this looks like such fun.
Your joy of life is so evident here my Dear One.

[mary ann]

hi corey! have been catching up with you on your blog...i loved reading all your wonderful stories about your family....so glad that they are surrounding you & your mom! have a fantastic day at the festa! xo mary ann

[Lilly]

Wow! Having been up to the reception in Willows and seeing how everyone happily pitched in to feed hundreds I can now imagine what a sense of community and what amazing food there will be at the festa!

[Miss Sandy]

What a wonderful tradition and family celebration. You have much to be thankful for dear Corey, celebrate your blessings well!

[anna]

Oh, my ---what a glorious celebration of family, friends, food and tradition...a gift!

[Suzanne]

Why wasn't I invited!? :[ I'm in London and I WANT my portuguese Festa, pleeeeease...

love*

[Jeanne]

Love and hugs
and have a fabulous time.
Love you
Jeanne

[the Farmer's Wife]

Fabulous! We have Italian Fests around here. The most famous is the feast of the Virgin Mary.

Do they serve the Portuguese sausage at the festa? Unbelievable enough, it's available here in the middle of nowhere Illinois. The local butcher (who is famous way beyond here) makes the sausage called lingua?? I have yet to try it but i think I'll drive over there today and get some.

Have a great celebration!!!!

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

[Mary]

I LOVE festas, fiestas, fetes and garden parties!!!! I enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie these family and neighborhood get-togethers generate..........and of course sampling the great ethnic foods.

Enjoy this wonderful day surrounded by your family - I'm so glad you can celebrate your heritage together Corey.
Blessings to you all.

[marita]

i would love to join you all at this magnificent postugese festa!!
and that sopa with mint leaves :O

what a great cultural tradition since centuries returning year after year and so cherished by all!

have a great time corey. enjoy! surrender!
;)

[martina]

Lots of work but it sounds like a really fun thing to attend. We are in an area where lots of Scandinavians settled. Not many traditions remain, but you can still go to a little local store and buy fresh pickled herring, Gjetoast and lefse. The store smells bring back lots of family celebration memories.

[Suz]

Hhmmm... Corey, what a life-affirming tradition and treat! Blessings!! ~Suz.

[Beverly]

This sounds like so much fun!

It is so inspiring that these traditions are being handed down to the next generations!

[sonrie]

Looks amazing...glad that your family is there to share it with you!!!

[Kristen]

I have always enjoyed the glimpses of French life you share with us; now you are showing me a beautiful life in Willows (and environs), an area that I pass regularly on my trips to northern California, but never knew existed beyond the signs of the freeway. Thank you for showing me the beauty in my own backyard.

[maria salpico*]

I had been wondering for a while now whether your family was Portuguese. My curiosity was finally satisfied! :)

It's funny, after visiting here for a couple of years, finding out we have something in common. I'm actually Portuguese, from Sintra.

This is my favourite time of the year, June, because of the "Festas". We call it "Santos Populares". Have you ever been to Portugal during "santos Populares"? In Lisbon and Oporto, all the old neighbourhoods celebrate the city's patron saint (S. Antonio or S. João). People come out at night to celebrate, all the narrow streets are decorated with colourful garlands, they put up long improvised tables and stools in the squares, there's tradicional music playing, and everyone eats grilled sardines, salad, soup,etc.

The city actually smels diferent these days!

And we all buy a small vase with a "mangerico", a small plant similar to basil, with a typical paper flower and small poem.

It's lovelly, there's nothing like it! If you've never been here you have to come next year!!

[lynne]

so yummy! grew up in south africa around a large portuguese community so i know and love the food!

[Jeanette]

Family is ready and we will be in line waiting for the meal! If early enough maybe we will be able to sneak in with one of the Queens small town related to at least one. LOL Hoping the temperature is not over 100 degrees like many years. See you there.
Jeanette

[Tammy]

Wow! What a wonderful tradition of joy and family and love. I am still wondering what sopas are so I look forward to learning more. Enjoy!!

blessings and love

[rochambeau]

LUcky Lucky you Corey!!!

[Travelingmama]

Yum! That bread looks so amazing and yummy!

[Hasmin]

Looks like fun (and hard work) to be had by all. The food sounds delish! :-)

[Isabel]

I got here via Constance's blog and had the wonderful surprise of reading this Portuguese celebration in France.
I am Portuguese and living in the States for over 20 years, but whenever I hear about my wonderful country's costumes and sense of community my heart still skips a beat...Makes me feel warm inside.
Thank you, Corey. I'll be back to visit :)

[Dee]

yum...yum...sounds so good! The bread sounds divine!

[melly]

I wish I lived in California. Here in Syracuse the Portuguese population numbers less than a hundred...and that includes our cats, dogs and parrots! Those that have a little bit of Portugal so close by are so lucky, so lucky!

Interesting though, I cannot complain today because as luck would have it, my sister who is visiting from Boston, brought us Portuguese delights. For dinner we had "sardinhas assadas" (grilled sardines) covered with garlic, olive oil and parsley
served with a wonderful vinho verde and for dessert pasteis de nata. Any other day, I would have been a little envious, but tonight my "barriguinha" is happy and my house "cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa"!

Happy Festa Corey! Enjoy!

[Ed in Willows]

Sorry I missed it this year. I even had an offer to go but I was shampooing carpets and cleaning the house. Deb was flying home from Texas today with our grandson and I wanted things to be nice for her when she got home. If you tell me that you brought home some sweet bread....I might have to come by for a slice.....I mean visit.

[Ed in Willows]

Sorry I missed it this year. I even had an offer to go but I was shampooing carpets and cleaning the house. Deb was flying home from Texas today with our grandson and I wanted things to be nice for her when she got home. If you tell me that you brought home some sweet bread....I might have to come by for a slice.....I mean visit.

[Elaine L.]

I went to a Festa, with a friend, when I was a student in Fresno. It was really fun and had a wonderful sense of community.

It seemed like they were going to a Festa every weekend in the summer.

~elaine~

[Marie-Noëlle]

There are large Portuguese communities in a few villages in my neighbourhood... They have the sense of family at large and the sense of sharing...
And they organize that sort of big reunions at this time in the year too. Now I know why.

(My knowledge about Portuguese habits is limited : Here they are said to live on cod.
So all that meat at your Festa sounds quite new to me.)

[Marie-Noëlle]

PS : I think I can spot Sacha in the background on picture 2.
Or am I mistaking ?

[Jamie]

Princeton? I remember the ferry ride over to Princeton. I might have attended a festa over there but it would have been many, many years ago! I had forgotten about this. Thanks for the reminder! I can't wait to visit this area when I come home for my 30th reunion this summer! Jamie V in MT
http://rem-nants.blogspot.com

[susanna]

Sounds like an amazing festival. I hadn't heard of it before and now I wish I could attend.