Portuguese Flag Raising at Town Hall of Harrison

The Portuguese American Community celebrated Portugal Day on the Weekend of June 4th & June 5th. The Portuguese Flag raising was held on Sunday in front of the Town Hall of Harrison. The children from the Centro Romeu Cascaes Portuguese American Community Center (Centro Romeu Cascaes) Portuguese School sang the US Anthem and the Portuguese Anthem. The children's singing was one of the highlights of the Flag raising ceremony.

Harrison Mayor James Fife addressed the crowd gathered. The President of the Centro Romeu Cascaes, Delfim Sarabando, gave a brief history of Portugal day celebrations in Harrison. Vice President of the Centro Romeu Cascaes, Maria Marieiro was the master of ceremonies and introduced dignitaries present including the Harrison Council members, Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos, and The General Counsul of the Consulate of Portugal in Newark NJ. Dr. Pedro Monteiro, and Deputy Coordinator for the Portuguese Language Program and Education Affairs, Jose Carlos Adao.

After the flag-raising and singing of both national anthems, refreshments were served in the Centro Romeu Cascaes building located around the corner from the Town Hall at 14 North Frank E. Rodgers Blvd. The weekend events were organized by volunteers from the Centro Romeu Cascaes Portuguese American Community. Centro Romeu Cascaes is a non-profit 501c(03) organization that has been serving the Harrison community for over 30 years.

The Centro offers Portuguese Language school for children, and social activities like Saturday Lunch, and Dinners throughout the year. Pre Covid 19, there were also group excursions to historical sights and other cities like Washington DC and Boston, Massachusetts.

The Rancho Camponses do Minho of Newark's Sports Club danced in front of Town Hall to the delight of those gathered for the flag-raising. The dancers were from the Camponses do Minho youth dancing group who are carrying on the traditional dances going back centuries.

Jose Carlos Adao (Deputy Director Portuguese Language Schools Consul of Portugal Office), Maria Marieiro (VP Centro Romeu Cascaes), Albert Santos (Mayor of Town of Kearny)

The events of the Portugal Day Weekend were a great success and enjoyed by all. The President of the Centro Romeu Cascaes Portuguese American Community Center, Delfim Sarabando thanked all who attended and helped make the weekend a memorable one. Obrigado! (Thank you).

If you would like to learn more about the Centro Romeu Cascaes visit their Facebook page and their website.

What was your favorite part of Harrison Portugal Day 2022's weekend? Let us know by Signing Up for our Discussion Board.