"Festa" this weekend!

Every August, hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of the globe descend on New Bedford, Massachusetts, for one of the largest parties on earth - the celebration of the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament.

The festival is this weekend - July 30-August 2 - and marks the 95th such celebration of rich Portuguese tradition, culture, food, and music.

If you can't make it to the real thing (or before or after you do attend), WSBE Rhode Island PBS gives you an insider's view during a 30-minute documentary entitled, FESTA on Saturday, August 1 at 7 PM. Two local filmmakers visit with organizers and vendors who return year after year to honor the traditions. The filmmakers then travel beyond the New Bedford feast to explore its origins on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Azores. (Beautiful scenery!)

It's on as part of Rhode Island Stories - the exclusive WSBE program that presents stories about or by Rhode Islanders. At 7:30 PM, stay tuned for the The Home of Rumford Baking Powder: Past, Present, and Future. Archival photos and the reminiscences of former employees tell the history of the manufacturing source of the familiar staple in every cook's kitchen: a tall red tin of Rumford Baking Powder. Once a manufacturing powerhouse that shaped Rumford Village, Rumford Center is now reshaping itself, through adaptive reuse as a community of apartments, offices, and shops.