ABOUT

The early Portuguese had settled in Southern Alameda County as whalers and seamen off the Pacific traders. The Portuguese were principally dairymen and farmers in the early 1900s, and St. John's Day brought together a loosely organized fraternity of the land where ranchers and field hands ate carne and sopas, drank wine, and talked of the crops and cattle. On September 18, 1921, the fraternity organized formally as Council #8 of the Sociedade Espirito Santa (SES). The organization was incorporated on July 3, 1940. Meetings in the rented Pavilion became a kind of Newark Grande Hall, and the religious celebration of the Holy Ghost is still held every July.

In 1940, as the use of the land for farming reached an all-time high and the S.E.S. increased its membership, the Portuguese bought the Pavilion grounds and made it the permanent residence of the council. When it wasn't hosting S.E.S. functions or overflowing with hay from a still active Pacific Land Company harvest, the old Pavilion saw the first screening of silent films in town. Today, the Newark Pavilion is the center of many community and Portuguese functions. The Holy Ghost Festa is held annually on the fourth Sunday of July, and the Festa das Contas is held annually on the fourth Sunday of August. The Council also awards college scholarships each year to members as selected by the Scholarship Committee. The two halls on the grounds are rented at other times for a wide variety of purposes, including weddings, dances, Quinceañeras, and other community events.