[ALBSA-Info] flag day 2001 @ Anthony's Pier 4

[eriola]

this short note was compiled by Van Christo.. and can be found @
http://www.frosina.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000101

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NEWS RELEASE from
Albanian Flag Day 2001 Committee
Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant
140 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
contact: Arti Cipo 617 482-6262

ALBANIAN-AMERICANS WILL CELEBRATE
ALBANIAN FLAG DAY ON NOVEMBER 28

BOSTON, MA November 5, 2001 -- On November 28th, ANTHONY ATHANAS, the Honorary
Consul General of Albania, will host an ALBANIAN FLAG DAY 2001 banquet
celebration at his world-famous Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant on Boston's
historic waterfront. Guest speakers will be His Excellency FATOS TARIFA,
Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the USA; PETER KOLE, distinguished
Albanian-American businessman and philanthropist, and the noted DR. FERID
MURAD, Albanian-American Nobel Prize winner. Many dignitaries have been invited
to attend, and Massachusetts Governor JANE SWIFT will issue a statewide
Proclamation commemorating November 28th as ALBANIAN FLAG DAY.

In point of fact, Albanian-Americans will gather in their respective
communities across the entire USA on November 28th to celebrate ALBANIAN FLAG
DAY or, as Albanians call it in their own language, Dita e Flamurit (Dee-tah eh
Flah-moor-eet -- the day of the flag). November 28th is a very special date for
Albanians everywhere for it was on that day in 1912 that the small Balkan
country proclaimed its independence after almost 500 years of Ottoman Turkish
subjugation, and, as a result, Albanians all over the world faithfully
commemorate that historic date. It was also on November 28th but is 1443 that
Albania's legendary folkhero, GEORGE KASTRIOTI aka SCANDERBEG, the Albanian
counterpart of America's GEORGE WASHINGTON, first proclaimed the independence
of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Scanderbeg's armies successfully fought and
held off the Ottomans for almost 25 years, and it was only after his death in
1468 that the Ottomans were finally able to invade Europe.

Almost 5 centuries later, on that same November 28th in 1912, the venerable
Ismail Qemal, selected by his Albanian compatriots as the head of a shaky new
provisional government, delivered the modern day declaration in Vlora, Albania,
just as Greek armies were marching on that seacoast city from the south, and
Serbian armies were marching on Tirana during the Balkan War that ushered in
WWI.

However, Albania's new-found sovereignty was short-lived what with the
continuing territorial demands of Greece, Serbia, and Italy, and, on Good
Friday, April 7, 1939, the tiny Albanian nation was invaded by Mussolini's
Fascist Italy. In 1991, Albania and America resumed diplomatic relations after
almost 50 years, and, on March 31, 1992, Albania elected its first democratic
government after almost 5 decades of brutal communist isolation and repression.

At the Commemoration Banquet at Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant, authentic Albanian
folkmusic will be provided by the "Malli" Band comprised of recent emigres from
Albania. The public is invited to attend.


The date and place of the event:

Wednesday, Novemeber 28, 2001
Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant
140 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210

6:00 pm Cocktails / 7:00 pm Dinner


Tickets:

$500 / 10
$50 / Adults
$25 / Children under 12


Make checks payble to:

ALBANIAN FLAG DAY 2001
and mail to Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant at the address above by November 23,
2001

For reservations, call 617 482-6262

Proceeds from the Albanian Flag Day 2001 celebration will be donated to three
non-profit organizations: the FROSINA INFORMATION NETWORK, an Albanian
immigrant and cultural resource, based in Boston, MA (www.frosina.org); the
NATIONAL ALBANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL (NAAC), dedicated to advocating for
Albanians and promoting peace and economic development in the Balkans, based in
Washington, DC (www.naac.org); and VATRA (The Hearth), a Pan-Albanian patriotic
federation founded in 1912, based in the Bronx, NY.