One of the biggest celebrations of the people from the Azores Islands is the Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival. Or as some call it…the Festa. It is celebrated all through the summer months, usually on the weekend. A dinner is prepared and served to the people on Saturday night and a dinner of sopas is prepared and served on Sunday. Most Holy Ghost Organizations serve hundreds of people and some serve thousands of people the sopas meal. It is usually served free of cost to the guests.
Parade of queens and courts, plus traditional Portuguese marching band, from Holy Cross Church to the Colonia Portuguesa do Divino Espirito Santo (C.P.D.E.S.) Hall in Santa Cruz, California, on July 4, 2010. The Holy Ghost festa is a yearly gathering usually held on the weekend closest to July 4, the feast day of St. Elizabeth (Isabel), a 13th-century queen of Portugal.
Video shot by Tom Prete for the Ocean Beach Bulletin.
