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48 local artists supporting the Portuguese Canadian leads, 6 artists from Portugal, 35 presenters and speakers and over 2000 people participated in the official events for Proud to Be Portuguese Canadian Conference & Cultural Festival in Toronto with special mention the presence of Secretary of State of Portugal Communities José Cesário, Consul of Portugal in Toronto Julio Vilela, Member of Canadian Parliament Andrew Cash, Ontario´s Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Charles Sousa, MPP Jonah Schein, from Regional Government of Azores Alzira Silva and a troupe of gorgeous talented descendants of the Portuguese in Canada.

What an exciting week it has been with an all day conference, a club party and a concert series at local professional venues. Over 100 newspaper, magazine and web articles, as far as I can tell, and I have a feeling I am not caught up; over 30 television stories and the disappearance of most of our giant 3feet posters and 10,000 zine programs should be telling that there is an interest in the culture of Portugal in Canada.

I would love to continue the Proud to be Portuguese Canadian project in Toronto and for that to be possible I ask for your support starting today; business community, media outlets, associations and individuals, join the movement and support Proud to be Portuguese Canadian through visiting the website www.portuguesecanadian.com, joining the facebook page, signing up to sponsor a future edition or to volunteer your time and services.

For this first festival in Toronto I would like to thank our conference partner Working Women Community Centre and the ON YOUR MARK project, funders Government of Portugal through DGACCP, Secretario das Comunidades, Government of Azores through Direccao Regional das Comunidades; the video contest sponsor The Carpenters Union Local 27; the writing contest sponsor Luso Learning Centre and the musical workshop sponsor Barrister Manuel Azevedo.

Our festival gold media partners that provided over $140,000 worth of advertising exposure: ABC Portuguese Canadian Newspaper, CiRV, FPTV, Gente da Nossa, Milenio and Nove Ilhas newspapers. Also OMNI TV News and the Canada Contacto department that have been incredible in their coverage of the festival; as well thanks to supporters I am Future, Lusocanada.com, Mundo Portugues, Senso Magazine, Voice and SOL publications, St Christophers House, Nova Era Bakery, Creative7 Inc, and our venues Hughs Room, Lula Lounge, Luso Learning Centre and Mod Club Theatre.

Our conference supporters: Centro de Lingua Portuguesa Camões, Luso Learning Centre, Lusocan Tuna, Sporting FC School Academy, University of Toronto, University of Toronto Portuguese Association, York University, York University Portuguese Association, and of course Toronto Tourism for all their support.

"A few women have been catalyst for the success of the project. I would like to set apart a trio of women that with their own resources and spirit have done so much for the project that they might not even realize.

First of all Marcie Ponte from Working Women Community Centre and the On Your Mark project, your support, tips, office space and hugs provided great comfort. And of course the On Your Mark project you run that supports hundreds of our kids through their scholling years is one of the best values within the region.

Then we have this new centre called LUSO LEARNING CENTRE run by  Ana Fernandes Iria. From teacher to Executive Director of the Luso Learning Centre, Ana has been supportive from the beginning and provided the space for our opening event as well as supporting the writing contest. You are a true jewel in the Toronto community.

And the woman I invited to be the face of this edition of Proud to be Portuguese Canadian, speak the opening address at the conference and even hosted a ladies dinner at Chiado, one of our most upscale restaurants in Toronto, Carmen Correia you are a goddesss and I am truly blessed to call you a friend..

Thank you all so much for the support and remember www.portuguesecanadian.com is always up on the net. Send us a message, let´s all work together.