The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament () is an annual four-day Portuguese cultural festival held at Madeira Field in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It is recognized as the largest festival of Portuguese culture in the world and the largest ethnic festival in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. It is organized by the Clube Madeirense S.S. Sacramento.

History

The festival was founded in 1915 by four immigrants from

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, both to recreate religious festivals from their homeland and to celebrate their safe arrival in the United States.

Traditions

A traditional Mass is held in honor of the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

at Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, but most people come for the parade, live music, folk dancing, kids activities, amusement park rides, and food and drink. The Feast also has

Madeira wine Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet wines usually consumed ...

imported in casks from

through an agreement with the Madeiran government.

Food

Escabeche __NOTOC__ Escabeche is the name for a number of dishes in Spanish, Portuguese, Filipino and Latin American cuisines, consisting of marinated fish, meat or vegetables, cooked or pickled in an acidic sauce (usually with vinegar), and colored w ...

de atum,'' ''carne de espeto,

linguiça ''Linguiça'' or ''lingüiça'' () calabresa is Calabrian chili-seasoned smoke-cured pork sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika, popular in Portugal, Brazil, Lusophone countries, and the U.S. state of Hawaii, created by Calabrian immigrant ...

bacalhau () is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as (fresh cod). Portuguese and other cuisines dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies li ...

,'' and ''

carne de vinha d'alhos () is a Portuguese dish categorized according to mode of preparation as an . The name means "meat marinated with garlic and wine". Originating in Madeira and the Azores islands, it is typically made with cloves, thyme, paprika, red pepper paste ...

'' are some of the popular dishes sold at the festival.

Miscellaneous

Governor of Massachusetts

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

described the event as an "all-time favorite" and lamented the cancellation of the 106th annual festival due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

{{Reflist Events in Massachusetts New Bedford, Massachusetts Portuguese culture Portuguese cuisine Madeira Island