The Ultimate Survival Guide for New Bedford’s Feast of the Blessed Sacrament
Hold on to your cuecas. The 106th Feast of the Blessed Sacrament is finally here.
For the past three years, I have heard about how exciting the biggest Portuguese feast in the world is, and now I finally get to experience it for myself.
It’s safe to say I will be a novice among veterans at The Feast, so I enlisted the help of some locals to put together a survival guide for anyone heading to the Madeira feast grounds this weekend.
Sandra Sylvia of New Bedford gave me some of the best advice. She is a born-and-bred New Bedford woman who annually attends the feast with her family, and she gave me some top-notch hacks involving vegetables and make-shift marinades.
The carne de espeto (skewered meat) is a huge attraction at the feast, but according to Sylvia, it’s B.Y.O.P: Bring Your Own Peppers. $10 gets you your own skewer, and while the feast provides salt for seasoning, Sylvia has a better idea.
“We bring a spray bottle to marinate the meat. ... You put some wine and beer in the spray bottle to make a marinade, and when the meat is on the skewer, spray the meat down, and it adds flavor to it. It’s great.”
Add your peppers to your skewer, and you have yourself a perfectly cooked, deliciously marinated shish kebab.
This feast survival guide has more than just food hacks. Whether it’s your first time like me, or you need a refresher, check out the do's and dont’s for the biggest party in New Bedford.