Today marks the start of the Provincetown Portuguese Festival honoring Provincetown’s rich Portuguese heritage. What began as the Blessing Of The Fishing Fleet, held to pay homage to St. Peter the town’s patron saint and to ask for blessing and safety of the town’s fisherfolk, on the last Sunday of June way back in 1947, has expanded to a four- day weekend festival which treats the thousands of visitors each year with authentic Portuguese food, lovely music, games for children and a colorful parade culminating with the Fishermen’s Mass and the Blessing Of the Fleet. This year, the Provincetown Portuguese Festival and the 63nd annual Blessing of the Fleet has been identified as one of the Top 100 destinations in North America by the American Bus Association Magazine. Though the fishing fleet has significantly dwindled and the main economic factor driving Provincetown is its tourism business, the locals try to cling to a tradition which brings the whole community together in celebrating not only the history of those brave Portuguese blazing across the ocean to settle in this coastal village but also to renew ties with friends, families and coworkers while embracing all those visitors who come to celebrate with them. For the next four days, fill your bellies with kale soup, linguica, fish marinated in Vinho D’Alhos and immerse yourself in Portuguese music with performances by Michelle Romeiro, Bossa Triba and the Berkshire Bateria Samba and a special Fado (The music of Portugal) concert featuring Cecilia Maria, Jose Carlos and Daniel Guerra. Bring the children to a fishing derby, a puppet show, some face painting perhaps and watch the Parade as it wind down Commercial St., with participants donning colorful costume and dancing on the street. Sunday beckons everyone to the Fishermen’s Mass and a procession towards McMillan Pier where gaily decorated boats await for The Blessing of the Fleet. Ah, this weekend, everyone is Portuguese again.