2007 Portuguese Heritage Day in Elk Grove
The Elk Grove Society of the Holy Ghost (S.E.S.) hosted their first Portuguese Heritage Day celebration on September 29th 2007 at their hall at 10428 E. Stockton Blvd. The day started off with a parade of animals led by an old horse drawn milk wagon followed by several donkeys carrying milk cans. Behind them were 4 teams of beautiful, large red and white oxen pulling replica’s of wooden carts with wooden wheels. As the parade approached the hall, you could hear the noisy squeak from the wheels rubbing on the wood axles. The carts were all decorated in the theme of a “Vindima” (grape harvest), they were carrying wine barrels, an old wine press, harvest baskets and old wooden farm implements all associated with the old country and the way of life hundreds of years ago.
After
the parade, grapes that had been picked the day before were place into
2 small wood barrels. The first grape stompers were the 2007 Festa
Queen Jamie Farr and her side maids Melissa Wegner and Raelynn
Dittrich. Before they were allowed into the barrels, their feet had to
be washed and dried by an attendant. Next anyone who wanted to help
smash and mush the grapes took turns in the barrels. There were young
and old alike getting their feet washed only to get them stained with
grape juice. While this was going on, a few musicians had gathered and
started playing and singing some old “vindima” songs. It was fun to
watch!
