LOVELOCK - As the I.D.E.S. Society of Lovelock prepares to hold its 79th Annual Festa this Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26, several of the children involved are great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren of the Portuguese families that organized the first Portuguese Festa in May 1935.
This year, we are proud to say that, coincidently, both of our queens have great-great grandfathers that were a part of the founding officers of our first festa.
Our Senior Queen is Mariah Mancebo. She is the daughter of Darrell and Bobbie Mancebo; the granddaughter of Roger and Maralyn Mancebo; the great granddaughter of Frank and Velma Mancebo; and the great-great granddaughter of Frank R. and Maria Mancebo.
Our Junior Queen is Daralyn Moura. She is the daughter of Anthony and Lisa Moura; the granddaughter of Tom and Darlene Moura; the great granddaughter of Manuel and Virginia Moura; and the great-great granddaughter of Manuel and Maria Moreira.
Other descendants of the Moreira family are Devin Moura, and Alyse and Kyle Blanchard. Tre and Shya Bronson, and Vernon Santos-Davis are descendants of the Santos family.
Everyone in the community is invited to take part in the festa, which is a religious, civic and cultural celebration of thanksgiving. The festa is sponsored by persons of Azorean-Portuguese descent to commemorate the end of a dreadful famine in Portugal in the year 1323.
The letters I.D.E.S. represent Irmandade do Divino Espirito Santo in Portuguese. When translated, this phrase means Brotherhood of the Divine Holy Spirit. Every year many out of town visitors come to the festa. Many are former Lovelock residents who return for this weekend event.
On Sunday, May 26, an outdoor procession will start at 10 a.m. from the historic Lovelock Depot, continue to the Pershing County Courthouse, and on to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, located at 1045 Franklin Ave. This is the same route as we had for the Portuguese Festa last May.
For the past four years, we have been privileged to include in our procession an old Azorean tradition - wooden carts pulled by oxen. Once again, the owners of these oxen teams have graciously accepted our invitation and they will be returning to Lovelock from the Central Valley of California.
Be sure to come out to see the beauty of the oxen teams and listen to the unique sound of the wooden carts.
This is a special note to the community and to our out of town visitors. If you would like to get a closer look at the oxen teams and visit with the owners, you do have that opportunity. After the procession reaches St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and the mass begins, the teams of oxen do stay in front of the church until mass is over.
During this time you can admire the oxen and learn about the training involved by the owners and their families. You will also be able to have a closer look at the distinctive wooden carts.
Leading the procession will be Cristian Diarte, Michael Gonsalves and Brandon Mancebo. They will carry the large American and Portuguese flags and the I.D.E.S. banner.
The Senior Queen of the Festa this year, representing Queen Isabel of Portugal, is Mariah Mancebo. Her attendants are Hailey Strom and McKenna Hertz. Lexie Strom and Koree Brown will be Cape
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Bearers for the queen. Her guard-of-honor will be Victor Gonsalves, Tre Bronson, Vernon Santos-Davis and Devin Moura.
Daralyn Moura is Junior Queen, with Rosalyne Soares and Alyse Blanchard as her attendants. The Junior Cape Bearers will be Savannah Foley, Shya Bronson and Anna Edge. Timothy Fecht will represent St. Anthony, patron Saint of Portugal. His attendants will be Conner Fecht and Kyle Blanchard.
When the procession reaches the front of the church, all present will pause at the base of the steps. At this time Madison Neal-Hertz will sing the Star Spangled Banner.
The procession will then enter the church for the festa mass. Remember, as was mentioned earlier in this article, this is your opportunity to really see the oxen teams and talk with the owners. The pairs of oxen and the unique carts will stay outside the church during mass.
Father Edgar Villanueva will celebrate the festa mass at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 26. Altar servers will be Lorin and Logan Oberman.
After the mass, the procession, including the oxen and carts, will continue by walking to the Community Center where at noon, a meal featuring the traditional Portuguese sopas will be served. Mary Quilici will be in charge of serving.
After the dinner there will be an auction of delicious baked goods and handmade items donated by members and friends of the society, as well as the traditional Portuguese Linguica and Portuguese Sweet Bread.
Darin Bloyed will be the auctioneer with Jeanne Anderson assisting with the auction items. Lisa Moura and Rene Childs will serve as cashiers.
Rosaline Mateas, Amy Blanchard and Darlene Moura are handling publicity for the weekend events.
We hope to see you at our 79th Annual Festa. Please join us for fun and delicious food.[[In-content Ad]]
