Hundreds of people gathered to enjoy drinks, food and live music at the Cape Verdean Picnic — a scaled-back version of the annual Onset Cape Verdean Festival.  

The picnic was held on Sunday, Aug. 15 at the Dudley Brown VFW in Onset from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

This year was the second year in a row that the Onset Cape Verdean Festival was canceled due to the pandemic. The annual festival celebrates Cape Verdean culture and heritage. When it was last held in 2019, the festival brought thousands to Onset. 

Tiny Lopes, who helps organize the festival, said the Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association still wanted to do something to fundraise for the 2022 festival and fundraise for the $1,000 scholarships the association awards to eight graduating seniors each year. 

Lopes said the larger festival has attracted 15,000 people in past years. It includes live music, dozens of vendors — some of whom sell traditional Cape Verdean food. 

The picnic featured similar attractions — raffles, vendors selling t-shirts and jewelry, food and drinks, live music and dancing — but on a smaller scale. Candida Rose performed as a guest artist, and Lady K was the DJ between sets.

Over the afternoon, Lopes estimated that around 700-800 people attended the picnic. 

“They came an hour early,” he said, explaining that people had filled the parking lot and were waiting in line before the picnic officially opened at 2 p.m. 

Lopes said the picnic, like the festival, was all about Cape Verdean culture. It is a way to “keep it alive,” Lopes explained. 

Lopes said, overall, he thought the picnic went well — but he said that the goal is to “go big again” and host the 2022 festival at the Bandshell in Onset, which is a better venue for thousands of people, including many Cape Verdeans who come from out of town for the festival. The town has money earmarked for renovating the Bandshell, and Lopes said the hope is that the improvements and construction are finished in time for next year’s festival.

After all expenses were paid, the picnic raised $7,100, Lopes said. He emphasized that the money raised was almost enough to fully fund the association’s $8,000 in annual scholarships, and said that Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association would continue hosting fundraisers over the next few months. Even days after the picnic, Lopes said people were still donating. He thanked everyone who participated and donated. 

“We didn’t really advertise this, but we still had a fantastic crowd,” Lopes said. “Our goal is to get back where we can accommodate more people. But this year was perfect — the day was great, the volunteers were great, everybody who participated was fantastic. It was a great day.”

Attendees overwhelmingly agreed.

Sharon Robinson, who is Cape Verdean and attended the picnic with her family, said she’d enjoyed the picnic. 

“This is awesome,” she said, adding that she normally goes to the festival every year. “I grew up in Onset. We’re looking forward to next year when they have it at the Bandshell again.” 

Robinson said the food was particularly great. She’d had chicken wings and jag, a beans and rice dish.

Rodney Johnson — also known as Mr. Sandman, creator of extravagant sand sculptures — attended the picnic with his wife Carol Johnson. He described the picnic as “our great family reunion” and said he hadn’t seen many of the people in attendance in quite some time. 

“We’re having a great time,” he said. “We’re having a ball. [...] I enjoy the music and seeing people come together and enjoying themselves.” 

This story has been updated to include information about the total amount of money raised at the picnic.