Two days of celebration begin tomorrow in the annual Feast of the
Holy Ghost. Islanders of Portuguese heritage and their friends will
party, dine and parade in a festival whose traditions date back more
than half a century.
"This is our heritage," said Bobbie Ann Gibson of Oak
Bluffs, president of the Holy Ghost Association.
Not a drop of Portuguese blood flows in Barbara Humber's
veins. Her ancestry is Scottish and Irish, but hand her a pile of
linguica, garlic and potatoes, and she can cook up a genuine batch of
sopa.
Ms. Humber is just one of a growing number of Islanders who have not
only joined the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs but now play
pivotal roles in it despite a glaring deficit: They aren't
Portuguese-Americans.
There is nothing sleepy at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs this winter, or any winter.
While many of the Island’s summer restaurants and clubs might slip into a state of hibernation, at the PA Club the music is loud, the television is playing and the heat is on. Someone has a story to tell.
The club, off Vineyard avenue, is the Island’s community living room, dining room and kitchen. For many of members, the place offers a second home, a second living space. The oven is seldom off.
The scene at the Portuguese-American Club Saturday night smelled of fresh fried dough, sweet bread, marinated shish-kebabs over the fire, Cacoila (Portuguese stew), and of course, of sopa, the soup that Islanders of all heritages associate so much with this annual celebration of the Feast of the Holy Ghost.
“It takes a lot of people to make it all work,” said longtime coordinator Tricia Bergeron. And a lot of people volunteer, year after year.
In Scottish, it’s called a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), which literally translates as a visit or gathering where friends and family share songs, stories and dance.
With a sold-out venue and nearly 1,600 people set to descend on the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs tomorrow, the Big Chili Contest 2010 is bigger than ever. And the event sponsored by Vineyard radio station WMVY is sure to produce more smiles than ever for all parties concerned, from the chili chompers to the chilly children who receive clothes that the Red Stocking Fund buys with the proceeds.
On Wednesday morning, the Portuguese-American (P.A.) Club in Oak Bluffs is nearly unrecognizable: It’s quiet both inside and out, a far cry from the exuberant bustle that will surround the modest building on Vineyard avenue this weekend during the annual Holy Ghost Feast. The only sign that the Feast will take place soon are two small tents standing in the parking lot.
The Oak Bluffs selectmen Tuesday heard the Holy Ghost Association’s preliminary proposal to host the Martha’s Vineyard Harley Riders’ annual Run to the Rock Event, a fundraiser for Island charities, at the P.A. Club building.
