Freeport Festa fills Clarksburg with Portuguese music and tradition
PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE CARROLL VISITED AND TALKED WITH SEVERAL OF THE ORGANIZERS. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS PARADE? OH GOSH, SINCE WE WERE LITTLE. HI. SO THERE’S LOTS OF QUEENS FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS, AND THEY COME AND THEY ARE THE VISITING QUEENS AT EACH PARADE. MY MOM HAD FIVE GIRLS AND A BOY, AND SO THERE WERE FIVE QUEENS IN OUR FAMILY. AND I WAS THE LAST QUEEN OF THE SOUSA BUNCH. AND I WAS QUEEN ONCE WHEN I WAS YOUNG. WOW. HOW MANY YEARS AGO WAS THIS? MINE WAS IN 82. HOW MANY HAVE YOU BEEN TO QUEENS BEFORE? I HAVE BEEN THE QUEEN BEFORE. YEAH, THAT WAS 24 YEARS AGO. I’M JUST AN ACTING LITTLE QUEEN TODAY. IT’S PRETTY FUN. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT IT? TRADITION. THIS IS OUR PORTUGUESE HERITAGE. AND WE’RE FROM THE MADEIRA ISLANDS. YOU KNOW, IT’S 133 YEARS. IT’S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LOT OF DEDICATION, A LOT OF HARD WORK AND A LOT OF LOVE. KEEPING YOUR TRADITIONS AND YOUR RELIGION, WHICH YOU BELIEVE IN. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS REALLY VERY MUCH PART OF OUR CULTURE AND OUR BELIEF. AND OF COURSE, THEY’RE HERE IN MASS TODAY BECAUSE WE CELEBRATE WHO WE ARE TODAY, BUT ALSO WHERE WE CAME FROM. THEY WERE LEAVING FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITIES. ISN’T THAT WHY MOST IMMIGRANTS COME TO THIS COUNTRY IS FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITY? AND THEY FOUND IT AND THEY FOUND IT HERE IN THE FERTILE LANDS OF CLARKSBURG, IN THIS DELTA, IN THIS FARMING COMMUNITY. WE’RE DOING THE EXACT SAME THING THAT OUR ANCESTORS DID. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. WITH THESE TREES AND THE GRASS. THIS IS THE WAY THE FESTAS SHOULD BE. AND THIS IS WHERE MANY PEOPLE MET, MARRIED, MET THEIR FUTURE SPOUSE, AND THEN THEIR OFFSPRING GOT INVOLVED AND MANY BECAME QUEENS. MY FAMILY HAS BEEN INVOLVED SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. 133 YEARS AGO. AND SO AS LIKE THE ONE OF THE YOUNGEST IN MY FAMILY, TO BE ABLE TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT THIS CONTINUES ON IS SUPER IMPORTANT. THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE FESTIVAL 50 YEARS AGO, MAYBE THE CLOTHES HAVE JUST CHANGED. THE COMMUNITY. ANY DIFFERENT CELEBRATIONS LIKE THIS ARE HAPPENING ACROSS OUR STATE. IMMIGRANTS FROM PORTUGAL FIRST STARTED COMING TO CALIFORNIA, AND THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VALLEY IN THE MID 1800S. THER
Freeport Festa fills Clarksburg with Portuguese music and tradition
Updated: 9:03 AM PDT Jun 1, 2026
The 133rd Portuguese Festa brought music, pageantry, and centuries-old traditions to Clarksburg on Sunday. Participants took over River Road for a parade celebrating Portuguese Queen Isabella, who was canonized as Saint Elizabeth. Children dressed as visiting queens marched in the parade. KCRA 3 photographer Mike Carroll visited the event and spoke with several organizers about the festivities. Many similar celebrations took place across California, showcasing the cultural heritage of Portuguese immigrants who began arriving in the Central and Northern Valley in the mid-1800s. About 350,000 people of Portuguese descent live in the Sacramento area.See more in the video above. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
CLARKSBURG, Calif. —
The 133rd Portuguese Festa brought music, pageantry, and centuries-old traditions to Clarksburg on Sunday.
Participants took over River Road for a parade celebrating Portuguese Queen Isabella, who was canonized as Saint Elizabeth.
Children dressed as visiting queens marched in the parade.
KCRA 3 photographer Mike Carroll visited the event and spoke with several organizers about the festivities.
Many similar celebrations took place across California, showcasing the cultural heritage of Portuguese immigrants who began arriving in the Central and Northern Valley in the mid-1800s.
About 350,000 people of Portuguese descent live in the Sacramento area.
See more in the video above.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel