FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) – The memories of four women killed in a fire during a Portuguese celebration in June are lingering over another religious feast this weekend that’s brought many of the same people back to the city.

The Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England has drawn hundreds of people from Portugal, Brazil, Canada and elsewhere to Fall River.

Amid the dancing, performances and food, thoughts of the celebrants in the tight-knit community will turn to the fire victims, said state Representative Michael Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat who also serves as representative for the feast.

“They are certainly on people’s minds,” he told The Boston Globe. “I think of this as part of the healing process. The feast goes on, and the celebration of the Holy Spirit certainly goes on.”

The June 14 fire broke out in a community center where about 30 people were preparing for the weeklong St. John’s Festival of the Holy Ghost. A candle is believed to have started the fire, which spread quickly through the hall, parts of which were covered with crepe paper.

The doors of the hall wouldn’t open when the fire broke out, forcing people to smash through windows to escape. The hall was listed as a private residence and had never been inspected, so required outward-swinging doors weren’t installed, fire officials said. Bristol District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. hasn’t decided whether to bring criminal charges against the nonprofit group that owns the hall, Recreation Association Nossa Senhora Ca Luz Inc.

Emiliana Carvalho, 80, Mary Raposa, 70, Geraldine Andrade, 63, and Christine Costa, 31, were all killed in the fire.

Lyn Silvia, 38, the daughter of Geraldine Andrade, was glad to know her mother has not been forgotten. Andrade was at the hall that night to light a candle and pray for her 11-year-old godson, who has cancer.

Silvia said she does not plan to attend this weekend’s celebration, though her father might.

“We’re doing OK,” she said. “It’s not easy, but we get through it day by day.”

AP-ES-08-26-06 1122EDT