The Annual Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival will be held on the grounds of the Stonington Portuguese Holy Ghost Society at 26 Main Street in Stonington Village on Saturday, September 1, and Sunday, September 2. Below is a schedule of the events for the weekend in what has been a Borough feature for approximately 100 years, and everyone is invited to participate.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
6:00PM ~ The Westerly Band will conduct a street procession from the Portuguese Club Grounds to St. Mary Church to pick up the symbolic crown and scepter before returning through the streets of the Borough, particularly through the area “south of the cannons” where the Portuguese settlers who began this feast lived during most of the 1900’s.
6:45-11PM ~ FAITH Portuguese Band from New Bedford ~ During breaks, there will be auctioning of Portuguese sweetbread (Massa Sevada) and other specialties.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
10:00AM ~Street procession from the Portuguese Club Grounds to St. Mary Church for the traditional blessing of the crowns and scepters symbolic of the Holy Spirit at the 10:30 Mass in memory of deceased members of the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society.
11:30AM ~Following Mass, the procession circuits the Borough on its return to the Club Hall.
12:30AM (time approximate) ~Following the parade, the symbolic “feeding of the masses” begins and continues until all have been fed the traditional soup (sopas) and roasted meats. (There is no cost for the meal.)
2:00PM ~ Mystic Horns will play in concert throughout the afternoon interspersed with auctioning of sweetbread, seafood, traditional sweets and craft specialties.
6:00PM ~Approximately 120 members of the Society will draw names for the hosts of the seven domingas and the sponsor of the 2012 feast.
Throughout the weekend, concession stands will provide food and beverage including Portuguese and American classics for all to enjoy.
