MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE ATTEND SPRING FESTIVAL

More than 4,000 people attended the Portuguese Spring Festival in Jersey.

The celebration of Portuguese food and culture was held at Les Jardins de la Mer for four days including the Bank Holiday weekend

About one in 11 Jersey residents say they have Portuguese or Madeiran heritage.

Organisers said it had been a "spectacular weekend".

'Blessed'

Jason Maindonald, one of the organisers, said they had been “blessed with the good weather” and “over 1,000 people a day” had come to the festival.

He has been helping with the event for nearly 15 years and added they wanted to promote Portuguese and Madeiran culture.

Mr Maindonald also said the event had changed "massively" since it started but the stalls still cook traditional foods.

Miguel de Jesus from No 6 Poncha Bar & Eatery said the event was very busy and brought the Portuguese community together.

He said "we have to have our own party" because there are so many people from the Portuguese community in Jersey.

He said it was really important as it "reminds us of home".

Alcinda Rodrigues said she came to the festival most years to and "you see people you haven't seen for years here" and "it’s good to come together over traditional food".

"It’s always good coming here," she said.

"We can show other people how Portuguese people celebrate with food too."

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2024-05-07T05:20:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd