Portuguese Day in the Park will be held this Sunday and is returning to its prepandemic format.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawaii Island Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and its Cultural and Educational Center held drive-thru Portuguese lunches and dinners, a Christmas Festa and Malasada Shuffle, and shared the documentary, “Portuguese in Hawaii,” produced by Nelson Ponta-Garca from his home in the Azores to participants on mainland Portugal, Madeira, the Azores, the continental U.S. and Hawaii.
One thing the Chamber Board vowed, as board member Billy Andrade so aptly put it, was not to have “Portuguese Day in the Parking Lot” in order to preserve the tradition of food, fun and fellowship the Portuguese are known for.
It’s back at Gilbert Carvalho Park in Hilo with the Hawaii County Band opening the event at 9 a.m., and country music played by Pure Country throughout the day.
Portuguese food favorites for sale will be Portuguese sausage hot dogs, Papa’s sweetbread, pickled onions, and malasadas made fresh at the park by the Big Island Portuguese Culture Club.
At noon, the chamber’s traditional gift to the community will be a sampling of freshly made, prize-winning Portuguese bean soup made in the park’s kitchen by Linus Tavares, and fresh homemade bread made by Evelyn Pacheco.
Nonfood items for sale will include Portuguese Day in the Park T-shirts and a variety of other shirts, cups and bags highlighting the Saudades Portuguese Cultural and Educational Center.
This 27th annual Portuguese Day in the Park will once again present “everything Portuguese” in the gym.
Exhibits will feature organizations from around the island with a focus on their Portuguese components.
Come see and experience the Portuguese presence in Kona through the Kona Historical Society; in Ka‘u, through the Ka‘u Multicultural Society; and in Honokaa, the historic town with seven Portuguese buildings fronting its main Mamane Street, through Honokaa Heritage Center.
Wonder which ship your Portuguese ancestors came on and want to trace your genealogy? Visit Kahealani Martins Curammeng to find out. Learn some Portuguese from Alf Seabury at the Portuguese language table. Examine the fine handiwork done by Madeiran family members in the Andrade Embroidery Collection, and enjoy other exhibits.
A special oral history presentation, “Remembering a Heart of Gold: Theresa Perreira Zendejas,” produced by Jackie Pualani Johnson and performed by Leanne Carvalho Baskin, will be presented in the gym at 11 a.m.
All proceeds generated from this event will go toward building the Cultural and Educational Center, for which ground was broken in November.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can either come to the park and do so, or mail a contribution to: HIPCC Cultural and Educational Center, P.O. Box 1120, Hilo, HI 96721. The Center is nonprofit, and all donations are fully tax deductible. For more information about the center, to donate or volunteer, contact Marlene Hapai, HIPCC CEC president/executive director at mhapai@aol.com or (808) 966-9894.