PTown Portuguese Festival 2014 is a Hit

Squid stew and porco were popular dishes at the Lions
food court during PTown's annual Portuguese Festival.

Provincetown's annual Portuguese Festival is in full swing, with many Portuguese dancers in costume on the streets, entertainment on Ryder Street (always renamed Portuguese Square during the festival,) the parade all along Commercial Street this afternoon, and Portuguese food galore at the Bas Relief park behind Town Hall.
I went to the big white food court tent myself this afternoon, where the local Lions club was running the restaurant for the day, and I had the spicy, really tasty squid stew, along with the porco. That's thin sliced pork steaks marinated in vinegar and spices and piled high on a Portuguese roll.
I hung around and talked to a few people as they came and went, and then stayed for the afternoon's entertainment, The Portuguese Kids, a well-known comedy sketch troupe that is a crowd favorite, speaking in mixed Portuguese and English, with Portuguese music interspersed between sketches. The troupe played to an enthusiastic audience both young and old, with even kids singing along in the Portuguese language. It seemed to be a crowd of people who had come from all over New England, most of them speaking Portuguese as they greeted each other.

Chourico with peppers and onions was served with Portuguese
rice once the buns ran out. Cold drinks also sold out.

I stayed long enough to be hungry again, so I ordered the chourico (say choo•ree•so, or shur•rees, depending upon how Portuguese you're feeling.) It was grilled with onions and peppers and had been served on Portuguese rolls all afternoon, but by the time I got some they had run out of buns, so they were serving it with a side of Portuguese rice, which was fine by me. They had had such a busy day that they eventually ran low on other food items as well as sodas and water, although the beer and wine supply held out a little while longer.
It was a nice afternoon of food and entertainment as I became an honorary member of Provinctown's Portuguese community, as I do every year at this time, even if only for a few days during the festival.
Get the Portuguese Festival schedule online, or stop by the booth at the corner of Ryder and Commercial Streets, because there's still more to enjoy tomorrow, like the Blessing of the Fleet, and the band concert, and more Portuguese food down on the pier. Get out and enjoy this last day of the festival. See you there.