2024 Festa Presidents' Message

The Schoeffel Family

"...we are honored. We have already seen firsthand that there is an army of support inside of this incredible community."

2024 Festa Presidents Bridget & Brennand Schoeffel

It is very surreal to say that we are hosting the 2024 Festa do Espirito Santo. Brennand has always said to me “Sweetie, we have to give Festa one day! How could we not?” I figured he was nuts and clearly had no idea just how major of an undertaking it would be. Yet, as the years came and went we found ourselves knowing that we not only should do it, but we wanted to take it on. So here we are and we are honored. We understand that it is a lot of work but we have already seen firsthand that there is an army of support inside of this incredible community. We are humbled at the amount of messages we have already received offering support.

Brennand was welcomed into our community 26 years ago when we started dating and loved it from day one. There were a lot of people and names to remember but he kept up just fine. I might even bet he knows more people than me! He comes from a small family and has always enjoyed the longstanding heritage and traditions our community has celebrated. Our kids, Braden and Briley, have been in Festa every year starting in 2006, we have attended countless fundraisers and events together, and Brennand even hosted the Barca one year with family.

I was born and raised in this community and can honestly say there have been times that I took it for granted. Seeing Brennand participate over the years has given me a different vantage point. We are so lucky to be part of such a strong, caring and supportive group of people who all fiercely protect, cherish and celebrate our heritage. It’s very unique and special and it makes us proud.

We can’t properly express how excited we are for the year ahead. The clock is ticking and we are off and running… hard at work to ensure that we host fundraising events for you that celebrate our community and leave everyone feeling happy, valued and proud to participate. In our minds a successful Festa would be one where we knew that we not only continued our traditions another year but we also inspired more of the community to participate, get involved, and where we, as a community, raised funds to go towards sustaining our hall.

We hope to make our community, family and forefathers proud. We promise to do our part in keeping our traditions and culture alive and thriving. Many people have said the phrase “… it’s your Festa”, but we feel strongly that we are hosting Festa for you, the community. It is our Festa.

Brennand and I are in awe of the countless people that show up and participate year after year in so many different ways. We know it takes a village and we look forward to working with each and every one of you. A lot of people doing a little bit can conquer massive goals and we want you to know that we value every single effort given. Whether you contribute simply one hour or one thousand hours of your time, we THANK YOU! Each and every bit matters and is appreciated.

Cheers to another year of honoring our Faith, Family, Tradition and having a whole lot of fun doing so.

Obrigado,

Bridget and Brennand Schoeffel