PROVIDENCE – If the Rhode Island Day of Portugal Committee president has her way, the sky above Brenton Point Park in Newport will be painted in red and green this Sunday afternoon when a special ceremony kicks off the annual Day of Portugal festivities in the Ocean State.
“We will be flying kites with the Portuguese flag,” said Ana Isabel dos Reis-Couto. “It will be nice to see the colorful kites fill the sky.”
The event, which will feature a Portuguese flag-raising ceremony next to the Portuguese Discovery Monument, will launch a week of initiatives for the local Portuguese community to celebrate their history and contributions to the state’s diversity.
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The City of East Providence held a tree dedication ceremony Monday in memory of the residents who died from COVID-19. (Shutterstock)
EAST PROVIDENCE, RI The City of East Providence has dedicated a tree to the nearly 200 residents who died from COVID-19 in the last year.
The tree was dedicated Monday at a public ceremony hosted by Mayor Bob DaSilva and City Council members outside of East Providence City Hall.
DaSilva said the tree is meant to be a reminder of the lives lost during the pandemic and will be decorated during the holidays each year to honor their memory.
Even after Maria DaSilva became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, there was one big barrier to her making an appointment online: she does not have a computer.
When DaSilva, 82, learned that people were getting vaccinated in Rhode Island, she went to East Providence City Hall. There she was told she would have to wait a few more weeks maybe three before she became eligible.
Over the next few weeks, she went back to City Hall several more times. Finally, officials told her she could register for a vaccine appointment, but she couldn’t do it in person. She would have to use the state website.