Mother's Day Celebration

CONTACT INFO :

PORTUGUESE CULTURAL CENTER
65 Sand Pit Road.
Danbury, CT 06810-4039.
UNITED STATES.
Phone : (001) (203) 748-1278.‎
Fax : (001) (203) 798-0847.
E-mails : info@portugueseculturalcenter.com / secretary@portugueseculturalcenter.com .
Website : www.portugueseculturalcenter.com .

HISTORY / DESCRIPTION :

The Portuguese Cultural Center of Danbury, Connecticut, owes its humble beginnings to a dream : the dream of creating a facility for the Portuguese American community that created a familiar environment for social advancement, in the pursuit of the "American Dream". In 1924, that dream became a reality, with the creation of the Sons of Portugal Club on Liberty Street, in Danbury, Connecticut. This club became very popular, and the need for larger facilities that could accommodate the fast growing Portuguese American community quickly grew. Therefore in 1938, the Portuguese American Club was created, and was also erected on Liberty Street. For nearly 50 years, the two clubs became the nucleus and the focus of the Portuguese American community, bringing with them several Portuguese American businesses and residents, creating the downtown area to be known as "Portuguese Square" or "Little Portugal". In July of 1998, the need for even bigger and better facilities could no longer be ignored. The Portuguese American community was at its peak in numbers. The decision was made to merge the Portuguese American and Sons of Portugal Clubs, creating the New Portuguese Cultural Center of Danbury, Connecticut, and to raise funds for the building of a new, bigger, and better center for the community.

The Portuguese Cultural Center is committed to provide best hospitality that Portuguese are known for and provide best services to Portuguese American community. The Center currently offer soccer, a music school, theatrical group and many more activities.

Anyone can become part of the Center just apply for a membership and enjoy its great facility with state of art, full size soccer field with locker rooms, indoor gym, cardio/weight room, a great hall to host events with all the modern amenities : high ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, spacious dance floor, stage, and two bar areas with all the live sports. It also have a restaurant that it's open to the public to anyone be able to enjoy its great cuisine.

Mission Statement :

To accomplish the following goals to ensure the financial security for the Center which will enable us to continue maintaining our heritage and culture at the forefront of our community.

PCC Board of Directors - 2015/2016 :

President : Jorge Sousa.
Vice President : Geraldo Mesquita.
Secretary : Pedro Costa.
Treasurer : Fred da Silva.
Membership : Carlos Bahia.
Special Events : Ana Paula Rebelo.
Food & Beverage : Nelson Pereira.
Facilities : Rogério Pereira.
Sports Committee : Manny Cipriano.
Organization Liaison : Maria Fernanda Pereira.
Public Relations : Dina Pereira Francisco.

CREDITS :

Main Hall : Private Bar and Catering Available.

Full Hall : Accommodates up to 600 people sitting comfortably with 2 available private bars.

½ Hall Accommodates 300 people sitting comfortably with one available private bar.

Main Floor Conference Room : Accommodates 60 people buffet style or 70 people family style.

Business Conference Room : Accommodates 12 people, perfect for small business meetings.

ABOUT THE EVENT :

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION.

Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. Although many Mother's Day celebrations worldwide have quite different origins and traditions, most have now been influenced by the more recent American tradition established by Anna Jarvis, who campaigned for the holiday. Organized by Jarvis, the first official Mother's Day was celebrated at Saint Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine. Previous attempts at establishing Mother's Day in the United States sought to promote peace by means of honoring mothers who had lost or were at risk of losing their sons to war.

During the 19th century, women's peace groups in U.S.A. tried to establish holidays and regular activities in favor of peace and against war. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War.

In 1868, Ann Jarvis, mother of Anna Jarvis, created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day", the purpose of which was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War." Jarvis – who had previously organized "Mother's Day Work Clubs" to improve sanitation and health for both Union and Confederate encampments undergoing a typhoid outbreak – wanted to expand this into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. Her daughter would continue her mother's efforts.

There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s but none achieved resonance beyond the local level. At the time, Protestant schools in the United States already held many celebrations and observations such as Children's Day, Temperance Sunday, Roll Call Day, Decision Day, Missionary Day and others. In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day for Peace" anti-war observance on June 2, 1872, which was accompanied by a "Appeal to womanhood throughout the world" (nowadays known as Mother's Day Proclamation). The observance continued in Boston for about 10 years under Howe's personal sponsorship, then died out. In these celebrations, mothers all around the world would work towards world peace.

Several years later, a Mother's Day observance on May 13, 1877 was held in Albion, Michigan over a dispute related to the temperance movement. According to local legend, Albion pioneer Juliet Calhoun Blakeley stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daughterty who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance advocates at gunpoint to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk. From the pulpit Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley's two sons, both traveling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers.

Frank E. Hering, alumnus and administrator at the University of Notre Dame and President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, made a plea for "setting aside one day in the year as a nationwide memorial to the memories of Mothers and motherhood" in 1904. After observing a class of Notre Dame students sending home penny postcards to their mothers, Hering went on to be a vocal advocate for a national Mother's Day for the next decade. As Hering stated in a 1941 issue of Scholastic : “Throughout history, the great men of the world have given their credit for their achievements to their mothers. Holy Church recognizes this, as does Notre Dame especially, and Our Lady who watches over our great institution.”

Ticket Price (including appetizers, buffet, open bar, and artist performance) : $45 per person for adults - $30 per person for children 6-12 years - Free for children -6 years.
Reservations : Call Mr. Jorge Sousa at (001) (203) 788-2794 or contact him by e-mail at jorge@clearviewrealtyproperties.com .
Other Contacts for Reservations : PCC at (001) (203) 748-1278 / Carlos Bahia at (001) (203) 994-3529 / Ana Paula Rebelo at (001) (203) 313-4235 / Ana Oliveira at (001) (203) 748-1278 / Victor Sousa at (001) (203) 509-0174 / Ana Perdigolo at (001) (203) 948-5965 / Nela Pereira at (001) (203) 791-2698 / Céu Bahia at (001) (203) 994-0249 / Teresa Ramos at (001) (203) 482-0801 / Ana Carvalho at (001) (203) 448-0061 / Hilda Barret at (001) (203) 746-1413.
Attenders can purchase tickets in person at the Center's Events Office seeing Ana Oliveira.
Events Office Hours : From 12:30 to 5:30 PM (Monday to Thursday) and from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Saturday). Closed on Fridays and Sundays.
Note : To attend Jorge Ferreira’s concert, you must to reserve your table. Seats are limited to 600, so make your reservation quickly !

All Ages - Foods available on a full buffet and open bar available.

Outdoor Parking Lot Available.

Organized by Portuguese Cultural Center.

LINEUP :

At 1:00 PM : The First Part.
- Dancing Lunch as a Buffet Style prepared and served by Royal Club Restaurant & Catering (Waterbury, CT).

At 3:30 PM : The Second Part.
- JORGE FERREIRA !!!