Whether it’s for the food, the music, the camaraderie, or the culture, the Onset Cape Verdean Festival seems to get bigger and better every year.

Today's event, which goes from noon to 6 p.m., will feature a wide range of performers and over 100 vendors, with at least 25 who will be cooking for the large crowd that will gather near the Band Shell.

Deneen Rose, president of the Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association, said there are a number of reasons for the event’s popularity, which celebrates the tiny island country off the northwestern coast of Africa.

“It’s a great time for people to get together,” Rose said of the festival, which she said has been in existence for over 20 years. “People come to celebrate the culture and the music and the food—it’s just a really fun day for all types of people. We’ve grown because of that.”

Not only has the festival grown in popularity over the years, but this year there will be three more days of fun prior to the festival at the Onset Cape Verdean Festival Carnival, which will take place for the first time this year on Aug. 6, 7, and 8.

“This is something that if it goes well this year, we’d like to do it every year,” said Rose.

Rose said the festival itself has become a yearly tradition for a lot of people, with many traveling to Onset from all over the country.

“It’s a big celebration just to celebrate the culture of Cape Verde,” she said. “There are a lot of people that, as we grow bigger and bigger, a lot of people have their family reunions here. Some even charter buses.”

As for the food, there will be a mix of Cape Verdean, American, and other dishes available. Rose said the variety and the quality of the food is part of what keeps people coming back. She noted one cook, Kevin Fernandes, who always has a line at his booth, where he cooks fried fish, chicken, and jag, a traditional Cape Verdean dish made with mainly rice and beans.

“His line is unbelievable,” she said. “You have to get there early.”

Fernandes said he learned to cook from his uncle, Jerry Fernandes, and he’s cooked at the festival for over 15 years. When he started, he just had two small frialators, and soon after, he had to upgrade.

“I didn’t know what i was getting into,” he said. “I had to get a bigger frialator just to keep up with the crowd.”

“Make sure you try the Cape Verdean dishes that they have,” added Rose.

The crowd will also come for the music, which Rose said consists mainly of Cape Verdean performers.

“We try to mix it up every year,” she said. “People request certain people, and we kind of bring back a lot of people that have been in our festival before.”

Performers include Zé rui Depina, a Cape Verdean-born singer/songwriter, Candida Rose, a New Bedford singer that mixes Cape Verdean musical roots with American influences, and Jose Spencer, leader of a traditional Cape Verdean band.

Rose said that besides entertaining the crowds, the goal of the festival is to give back to the community. Each year, they award eight scholarships to Wareham High School seniors, as well as giving scholarships to two Bridgewater State University students. They donate to several area causes involving children, as well.

“Our main goal is that we’re an organization that’s going to give back to the community,” she said, noting that they’ve donated over $95,000 in scholarships and to charities in recent years. “The children are our future, so we try to give back to them.”

The festival takes place at the Lillian Gregerman Band Shell from noon to 6 p.m., with a rain date of Aug. 10. Parking will be available for $10 at the Dudley Brown VFW, at Lopes Park, and Hines Field, with a free shuttle going back and forth to the festival.