The festival begins at 6 p.m. Saturday with a procession at the Portuguese-American Club, 1133 Crafton Ave., Mentone. The procession is followed by the saying of the rosary and a light dinner.

The celebration continues at 10 a.m. Sunday at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, 115 Olive Ave., Redlands, where a Mass is dedicated to the celebration and at which time the queen will be crowned.

Following Mass is an all-day celebration at the Portuguese-American Club.

Breanna Freitas, this year's queen, attends Yucaipa High School. She is the daughter of Daniel and Dianna Freitas and granddaughter of Antonino and Maria Freitas.

Yvonna Johle, daughter of Bryan Johle and Therese Smith, is the second-year princess. She is 15 and attends Yucaipa High School.

Emily Moore, daughter of Ron Moore and Dorothy O'Neill, is the first-year princess. She is 13 and attends Hephatha Lutheran School in Anaheim Hills.

The Festa do Espirito Santo is a religious celebration dedicated to the Holy Spirit and Queen Isabel of Portugal who fed the poor. It generally takes place on Pentecost Sunday or shortly thereafter.

The original idea of the festa, begun by Queen Isabel, was to stimulate among the nobility the virtues of Christian humanity and charity. The festa is still celebrated in Portugal, especially on the Azores Islands, where it is an important part of religious and social life.

It is also still enthusiastically celebrated in California by Azorean immigrants and their descendants.

SOURCE: Dianna Freita

Redlands Daily Facts, aqui.