Summer Festa helps raise funds for Portuguese center

People gathered around the Mooheau Park Bandstand to experience live music and Portuguese culture on Saturday afternoon during Summer Festa in Hilo.

There were cultural and historical exhibits; food including fresh malasadas, Portuguese bean soup, and Portuguese sausage dogs; a living history of Perreira Zendejas featuring actress and playwright Jackie Pualani Johnson; music by ‘ukulele master Brittni Paiva, Portuguese fado singer Ramona Viera, and the Hawaii County Band.

The Summer Festa is helping to raise the $150,000 needed to meet the fundraising goal for the future Hawaii Island Portuguese Chamber of Commerce Cultural and Educational Center.

After meeting the fundraising goal, HIPCC can sign a construction contract for the long-envisioned facility at the corner of Komohana and Ponahawai streets in Hilo.