Yerington Portuguese Festa 2025 to Honor Julie Gibbs & Jennifer Houghton

Yerington Portuguese Organization announced:

The 104th Yerington Portuguese Festa will be held Sunday, June 1st, 2025 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Yerington. The event starts with mass at 10:30aa.m., followed by a traditional lunch of sopas, sweet bread and Portuguese beans at 12:00 noon. The festival honors the Holy Ghost and commemorates the miracle of Queen Isabella offering her crown to provide food for her people, ending a famine in the early 1300’s.

This year, the Yerington Portuguese Organization is proud to name mother and daughter Julie Gibbs and Jennifer Houghton as its Festa honorees. Guided by Julie’s mother, Elsie Brower, the three generations were mainstays of the celebration for decades. Julie organized and ran the Wheel of Fortune at the annual Saturday night dance while young Jenn served as her “Vanna.” There was no greater thrill for a young attendee than placing a dime on their number, watching it turn up on the wheel, and skipping away with a doll, football or a squirt gun.

But the beauty of Jenn and Julie’s family is how they carry forward the Carlos and Silva families’ traditions of love and a heritage dating back to São Jorge in the Azores. Jenn grew up learning rosaries, serving as a side maid and ultimately as Festa queen. She recalls her early Festas as cherished reunions that brought kids and families together. Julie remembers helping her mother organize and send raffle tickets, prepping potatoes for the salad, and assisting with the myriad projects that make the Festa happen. She said the continuity of roles contributed to preserving and progressing culture and faith over their many wonderful years of service.

Sadly, Elsie passed in November, but attendees delighted in seeing her at the Festa last Spring. As a remembrance, Jenn’s brother made Wheel of Fortune replica Christmas ornaments for the family. This year’s auction will feature a number of Elsie’s handcrafted quilts and one-of-a kind Portuguese keepsakes.

Jenn and Julie are both enthusiastic about the Portuguese community’s resilience in continuing the Festa following Covid and the way younger generations are getting involved. They look forward to many celebrations in the years to come!