For Tiny Lopes and his wife Virginia, the Onset Cape Verdean Festival is like a “family reunion.”

“We call it a family reunion because we get to meet and greet new families,” explained Lopes, the public relations officer for the Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association, Inc.

Thousands of people gathered at the Lillian Gregerman Bandshell in Onset to celebrate Cape Verdean culture on Saturday, Aug. 12. 

Among those in attendance were festivalgoers from Washington D.C., North Carolina, Virginia and California, said Virginia Lopes. 

“This event today is a celebration of homecoming – a reunion from near and far,” said State Sen. Marc Pacheco. 

Sen. Pacheco added, “Everyone here is celebrating a beautiful culture, what a beautiful day.”

This year, the 20th annual festival, is the first since 2019 that it was able to return to its full capacity. Lopes said that in previous years, there had been crowds up to 20,000 people. 

Vendors served traditional Cape Verdean foods, such as catchupa, gufong and jag. Also for sale were flags, clothing and jewelry. 

“We’re here because of our ancestors,” said Lopes. “We want to make sure our traditions are shared with our grandchildren, and so on.”

The festival also featured live music by Fantcha, Calu Bana and many other artists.

“The people are great, the music is wonderful,” said Mimi Goncalves, who has been attending the festival since it began in 2003. “We are eating whatever we get our hands on and making friends with everyone.”

“It reminds me of being in Cape Verde,” said long-time festivalgoer David Pina. “Spending time with your people.” 

“I’ve been to a few festivals — this is the best one,” added Pina.