Saturday Night at the Sausalito Portuguese Hall

A few months ago while hanging out at the beach with our friends, the Taylors, we got to talking about both of our Portuguese heritage backgrounds. You may remember from my previous post about the history of Holy Ghost Festas and on how I grew up going to festas {pronounced ‘feshtas’}, and that both of my sisters were queens within the Petaluma Holy Ghost Society years ago. Well, Karen’s sister, Kathleen was also a queen years ago but within the Sausalito Holy Ghost Society.

Anyway, we got to talking about how we want to expose our own kids to the same cultural experiences we grew up with. My family has membership with the Petaluma Society and Karen and her family just recently became members of the Sausalito Society. She was telling me how the Sausalito Society was very active in recruiting new, young members who are interested in learning and preserving the Portuguese culture.

THEN, she tells me I should check out their website.

Um…..website??!!

I had never heard of any such thing {at least around this areaa}.....a Portuguese Holy Ghost Society having a website? This, I had to check out.

So, to make a long story short, after checking out the website, I saw that they had so much to offer, such as Portuguese language classes, group outings and they keep connected with members by their online newsletter. Of course I signed our family up to become members of the Sausalito Society right then and there.

Last night we attended the Member’s Dinner. The traditional Azorean Sopas was served along with the traditional beef and a bonus side of cooked cabbage, carrots and sweet potatoes. Most of the festas I’ve been to have only served the sopas and beef, so it was really nice to have the veggie dish included with the meal. The sopa dinner was prepared by Manual Azevedo, who is the Chef and owner of LaSalette Restaurant in Sonoma, CA and Ruben da Silva and was such a delicious, flavorful treat that brought back many childhood memories.

Here is the display of the Senior and Junior Queen's crowns, which are worn on the day of the Sausalito festa where the new incoming queens are crowned. 

Also in the display room hangs photos of all previous queens that have had the honor as sitting as Sausalito Holy Ghost Society queens.

Dinner is always served family style.  Here's a pot of sopas garnished with the traditional mint.

The beef.

And here's the delicious cooked cabbage with white sweet potatoes and carrots.

All this was served to a packed house.

My little carnivore was extremely happy.

Time for dessert, served by Chef Manual.

Rice pudding dessert.

Stenciled with cinnamon.

And we finished off the night with a little dancing.

Happy Sunday!

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My Portuguese Heritage

Yesterday, the kids and I met my parents at the Petaluma Holy Ghost Society Portuguese Festa.  Being Portuguese, I grew up attending these Festas every summer, all summer long.  I want my kids to be exposed to the Portuguese culture as they grow up,  just as I was.  This is the perfect way to do it!

A little bit of my family background:  My Dad is the youngest of 13 brothers and sisters and was born and raised on the Azores island of Sao Jorge.  In his late 20's, he decided to move off the island and make his way to America as most of his brothers and sisters had already done.  On his journey, he stopped over in Brazil for about two years where he found a job as a Milk Man and met my Mom. My mom's heritage is Italian but she was born and raised in Brazil with her 12 brothers and sisters.  All of my Mom's family is still in Brazil and we have never met any of them in person. 

After his two years in Brazil, my Dad made his way to America.  He sent for my Mom to come over three months later.  They made a happy life for themselves and eventually us, when we came along in Northern California.

In the very early years, my Dad worked on a couple of different dairies as a milker.  By the time my sisters and I came along, he had taken a job at McNear Brick Company and then eventually Sonoma State University to work as a grounds keeper where he retired from.  My mom was a Stay at Home Mom raising my two sisters and me.

We didn't go on any family vacations but we did get to attend EVERY Portuguese Festa in the surrounding area.  Probably about 6 or 7 every summer.  We met many new friends at the festas that we would only see when we attended the festas, something for us to look forward to. 

Festas:  are typically celebrated with parades, a special mass in town at the Catholic church, and a coronation of the festa "queens" with feasts of sopas (soup) and meat following afterwards. It is said that Queen Isabel of Portugal was compassionate towards her subjects during a 14th century famine, and often snuck out to feed the poor with bread hidden in her cape.

In today's parades, young women re-enact her legacy and dress as queens in formal gowns, velvet capes and tiaras. Each association's annual coronation is honored by the presence of local queens and their families. The queens are selected based on succession; depending on how long a girl has been marching with the association, she can move up from flower girl or side maid and eventually earn her place as baby, junior, or senior queen.

Here are this year's queens and side attendants from Petaluma's festa.....

Flag bearers from the parade...

Our Lady of Fatima statue.......

St. Anthony statue........

When the parade arrives back at the hall, the Senior Queen releases a white dove.

Lunch is served.  Soupas.  French bread soaked in special seasoning juices.

Meat so tender and flavorful, no knife is needed.

It's all served up family style.  One of my sisters, Gloria, pouring some punch for one of her friends....

In Petaluma, there are two dining halls. Both are filled to capacity.

The kitchen crew.......

In one of the dining halls there is a display of all the past Petaluma queens.....

I found a photo of my sister, Lisa, when she walked as Junior Queen in 1986.

After we ate, the kids wanted to check out the little chapel adjacent to the dining hall.  This chapel is only used the Friday night before the parade to recite the rosary for the new queen.

"Hurry up and take your picture, Mom"

Dad, Mom, Bryce and Paige in the chapel.

In the dance hall, games were played.....

Bryce won a knife set.....great!  The conversation on the drive home was dominated by Bryce trying to negotiate keeping his knife set in his bedroom.  Sorry buddy.

Paige's prize, dish towels which she promptly threw down to the ground exclaiming for ALL to hear that she didn't want them!  I knew they would be grumpy today after going to sleep late the night before.

Some live auction items.......

Dessert.  I LOVE these Portuguese cookies!  They are my favorite!

I'm trying to track down this recipe so that I may attempt to bake a batch.

A soupa dinner is served again at 6 p.m. and dancing goes on late into the night. We didn't stay.....maybe next time!

Happy Memorial Day!

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