LUDLOW — Our Lady of Fatima Parish is hosting its 76th annual Festa celebration from Thursday, Aug. 29, to Monday, Sept. 2, where thousands of people from the Western Massachusetts community and East Coast gather at-large.
Festa takes place over the course of five days during which guests can enjoy food, carnival rides, games, music and the Portuguese culture.
Our Lady of Fatima Parish Festa President Scott Gomes-Ganhao talked about this year’s festival and why people should take the time to enjoy any of the five days.
He said, “If you’ve never been or if you haven’t been to Festa lately, I would urge people to come check it out. It has definitely evolved. It is probably one of the events that you can enjoy with the whole family, feel safe with all the security measures in place and still somewhat affordable compared to some of the larger events that are out there.”
Although this event has been taking place for 76 years, the festival is always looking to evolve and will feature some new performances and rides this year.
There will be 24 performers flying from Portugal to play on the Festa stage this year.
For the first time ever, Thursday night will be country night with American Honey set to perform at 8 p.m.
Gomes-Ganhao also said there will be two big headliners from Europe set to perform at Festa this year. 4 Mens will be performing on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 9 p.m. and Jose Malhoa will be performing on Sunday, Sept. 1, at 9 p.m.
“Typically, we only have one, this year we’ve decided as a committee to go ahead and actually bring two big headliners from Europe for performances,” Gomes-Ganhao added.
Gomes-Ganhao talked about the upcoming performance of 4 Mens as it will be their first ever United States performance with their full band.
He said, “It’s an exciting time for them. They’re very excited, they’re bringing their entire band. They had won the Portuguese Music Award earlier this year and came here for that but they are for the first time ever going to perform in the states with their entire band,”
The carnival portion of Festa has also expanded as Gomes-Ganhao said they have added four more rides with two of the rides being new to the Northeast.
Gomes-Ganhao said this event started as a religious event and still maintains tradition on Sunday with an open air mass and a candlelight procession but the event continues to evolve.
He added, “Today I would say if you asked the average attendee, Festa is just a great time. It’s a fun, safe family environment where there’s something for the whole family. Whether you want to go there for the food, you want to go there for the entertainment, you want to go there for the carnival, we just provide something for everyone.”
People from different states and even countries travel to this event each year. Gomes-Ganhao talked about what the turnout means to him and the committee.
He said, “It is rewarding. It’s the testament that you’re doing a good job. People wouldn’t travel from Canada or Florida, which we have confirmed visitors coming from both those places, if the event wasn’t worth it. To the organizers, to the committee that puts it on, it’s basically a gratification to know all the hard work is appreciated by many from many, many miles away.”
When it comes to this year’s event, Gomes-Ganhao is excited to see the community come together but also said, “I am looking forward to the new rides. Being a kid once and remembering the rides so I’m looking forward to seeing some of the new rides and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the performance of 4 Mens.”
