The Waterloo Region Museum is looking to track the history of all immigrant groups to the Region, but the Portuguese community is under-represented.
Curator Tom Reitz says not a lot of members from the community are coming forward to donate items to the display.
"The Portuguese community, from both the Azores and the European continent, have played an important role in immigration and in forming the community life here in Waterloo Region," Reitz said.
Mario and Sofia Morgado are members of the Portuguese community in Kitchener. They run a corner store with fresh bread and Portuguese trinkets, a popular stop for the community. They believe many new immigrants may be reluctant to reach outside the close knit community.
"It would help them just to understand that you don't have to live Portuguese all the time," Sofia said about the new exhibit.
Currently there are more than 10,000 Portuguese-Canadians living in the region. They're the first group of non-English or German speaking immigrants to arrive in large numbers.
Anyone with information or items to contribute to the exhibit can contact: Stacy McLennan at (519) 748-1914 ext. 3268, or via email at: smclennan@regionofwaterloo.ca
