The local men felt Fall River should at least try to pay homage to the patron of the islands' people. We had the first one and there were lots and lots of people. People who came from all over. Every year since then it has grown and grown and grown. We never thought it would get this big.
People come from all over.
It is amazing. Feast officials estimate that the city more than doubles in population from about 90,000 people to about 200,000 for one weekend a year as Azoreans and Portuguese from as far away as California and the Canadian province of Alberta make their pilgrimages to the city. Unlike many other feasts in the region, the Grandes Festas Do Divino Espirito Santo Da Nova Inglaterra is non-commercial. There are no amusement rides, very few games of chance and, generally, no politicians marching in the procession. The setting for the feast is the northern section of Kennedy Park.