This Sunday, 23rd June, Vasco da Gama Club will host a celebration of the Feast of São João at Victoria Park. This will take place from 3pm to 7pm, and all members of the public are invited to attend free of charge.

There will be food and drinks for sale, but the culinary highlight of the event will be grilled sardines and boiled potatoes. This dish is typical of celebrations of São João throughout Portugal and the Azores.

The Club is also pleased to announce that visiting from Canada is the Portuguese folklore group, Grupo Folclórico Campinos do Ribatejo of Montreal. They will grace the festival with a performance, and the day’s events will also feature the Club’s Folklore Group - Grupo Folclore Vasco da Gama da Bermuda - and the Vasco da Gama Grupo de Marcha – the dancing group that took part in the Bermuda Day Parade.

The Feast of São João is one of the main Festas dos Santos Populares (Festivals of Popular Saints) that are celebrated in Portugal throughout the month of June. These Festas have pre-Christian origins that surround the celebration of the coming summer solstice. São João in particular marks the birth of Saint John the Baptist and combines midsummer elements of merriment with the veneration of this pivotal Catholic Saint. São João of is a colourful and lively affair in the northern city of Porto and the Azorean communities of Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel and Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira.

• Press release from the Vasco da Gama Club