When Manny Carvalho realized his dream of opening Churrasqueira Bairrada restaurant in 1996, he was nurturing a second dream – to host a Portugal National Day.
Carvalho’s dream was realized in June last year with a celebration in the parking lot behind what now has become a local dining institution at 144 Jericho Turnpike in Mineola.
This year, he plans to do it again and he’s as excited about the second Portugal National Day scheduled for June 15 and 16 behind Bairrada as he was the first celebration.
“In our heart, we are Portuguese. It’s to remember our country,” Carvalho said. “One day is not enough.”
Portuguese National Day is celebrated annually in Portugal and among Portuguese people worldwide on June 10. The day commemorates the death of Portugal’s revered poet Luís Vaz de Camões, an literary icon of Portuguese nationalism, who died on that date in 1580. Camões wrote an epic poem retelling the exploits of Portuguese explorers.
Although the event drew 1,000 people last year, Carvalho said he lost money on the day.
So this year, he’s increased the number of entertainers at the Portugal Day observance, which will run from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 15 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 16.
This year the featured performers are three generations of a renowned family of Portuguese musical entertainers: Jose Malhoa and his daughter Ana Malhoa, performing Portuguese pop tunes, and the elder Mahoa’s granddaughter, India Malhoa.
The grandfather and granddaughter will perform Saturday night and all three Malhoas will be performing on Sunday.
Local Portuguese music groups Sugartown, Ranchos Mineola and an accordion band, Grupo de Ceoncertinas, will also be performing both days along with a Michael Jackson impersonator.
Young performers from the Mineola American-Portuguese Society will perform on Saturday with older dancers and musicians set to perform on Sunday’s program.
Carvalho said he’s hoping to at least match the crowd attending the festival last year. The raffle of a 2013 Toyota Corolla is expected to increase interest and attendance.
“It’s going to be a huge event,” said Carvalho’s son, Hector Fonseca, who is handling the planning and the promotion of the celebration.
“We’re doing really strong marketing this year,” Fonseca said.
An ad campaign is running on a regional Portuguese cable channel and in local newspapers, according to Fonseca, who said a promotion running on Bairrada’s Facebook page has drawn 4,000 visitors.
Carvalho said Portuguese friends from as far away as Westchester attended the one-day event last year and he said he hopes to build on the momentum from the inaugural event.
“That’s the day Portuguese people come together,” he said.
Fonseca said the objective is to draw members of the Portuguese-American community from all over Long Island.
Next year, he said the objective is to make the event a three-day festival in Wilson Park in Mineola.
Admission for this year’s event will be $20 for one day and $35 for both days. Food and beverages will be sold on site and seating will be expanded to accommodate 600 people.
