The Provincetown Portuguese Festival is a four-day cultural celebration held each year on the last weekend of June. The festival honors the traditions of Provincetown's Portuguese-American community, while the Blessing of the Fleet pays tribute to the courage of generations of fishermen who went to sea to support their families. Music, dancing, food, and colorful pageantry fill the town, with events ranging from Mass at St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church to a procession down Commercial Street carrying the 500?pound statue of St Peter, patron saint of fishermen. At the end of MacMillan Pier, clergy bestow blessings of safety and prosperity on the assembled fishing and leisure vessels. Portuguese Square around Ryder Street hosts live Fado performances, folklore dancing, and food stands serving classic Portuguese dishes. - AsNotedIn
| Y/M/D | Description | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1875/00/00 | Portuguese fishermen from the Azores and Cape Verde, displaced by the decline of New Englands whaling industry, settle in Provincetown and shift into the town's growing groundfishing and scalloping fleets. | Provincetown, Massachusetts |
| 1900/00/00 | Portuguese form nearly the majority of Provincetown, their traditional fishing trawlers crowd the docks as activities include St Peter's Catholic Church and the fishermen's unions, with the town's economy firmly tied to the maritime trades. | Ptown, Provincetown |
| 1932/00/00 | Antonio Brito of Britelo, Portugal, opens the Provincetown Portuguese Bakery. A Portuguese family assumes full ownership around 1936. | Provincetown Portuguese Bakery, Provincetown |
| 1947/00/00 | Provincetown fishermen, Arthur Bragg Silva and Domingo Godinho, visit Gloucester to witness that port's annual religious maritime ceremonies, observing traditions that echo their own community's seafaring culture. | Gloucester, MA, Massachusetts |
| 1948/00/00 | Father Silvia of St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, together with Arthur Silva, Domingo Godinho, and a committee of local Portuguese-American fishermen, launches Provincetown's first Blessing of the Fleet. | |
| 1996/00/00 | Provincetown native Mark Silva and a team of local volunteers develop the Blessing of the Fleet into a signature event celebrating the cultural pride and maritime heritage of the town's Portuguese-American community. | |
| 1998/06/00 | Governor Paul Cellucci proclaims the month of June as Portuguese Heritage Month in Massachusetts. The Blessing of the Fleet becomes the newly established Provincetown Portuguese Festival. |
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