OSOYOOS TIMES-June 17, 2009

By Diane Zorn – Special to the Osoyoos Times

The beat of drums and the vibrant colours of folk costumes drew the attention of the hundreds of people who gathered at the Sonora Community Centre on June 14 to witness the unveiling of the Osoyoos Portuguese Commemorative Mural.
The tile mural depicts the part the Portuguese people played in the development of agriculture in the Osoyoos and Oliver area during the past 50 years.
One of the speakers at the event, Dr. Carlos Texeira, professor at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan and an authority on the Portuguese in Canada, gave credit to the contribution of the Portuguese immigrants with his remark, “You deserve this moment today for what you have given to the town.”
He spoke of the success the Portuguese settlers in the area enjoyed after facing the challenges of immigration in the early 1950s, when they stayed here to build homes, buy and plant orchards and become a part of the community.
Present at the ceremony were Portuguese Consul General in Vancouver, Carlos de Sousa Amaro, Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater, Destination Osoyoos chair Derek Noske and Mayor Stu Wells.
All of the speakers acknowledged the part Louisa Carvalho of Osoyoos played in her tenacious endeavours to have the mural realized.
After the speeches and the unveiling, the crowd moved out of the afternoon heat into the Sonora Centre’s auditorium where they watched performances by the Okanagan Portuguese Canadian Folk Dancers and enjoyed food prepared by the Portuguese Cultural Society.
The Osoyoos Arts Council initiated the mural project in 2005 and the effort met with many obstacles before finding a home on the front of the centre.
Made up of 400 tiles, the mural was created by local artists Katie Foster and George Mocci.
Funding, in part, came from grants that became available when Osoyoos gained recognition as a resort community.
Noske spoke for Destination Osoyoos by saying that this project is the first of other public art dedications to be made in the community.
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