Editing Fall River, Massachusetts (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Banners of Allegiance at Gromada Plaza, Fall River, Massachusetts.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The 19 Banners of Allegiance at Gromada Plaza represent the diverse nationalities of Fall River's residents<ref name="Jasinski" />]]
[[File:Kennedy Park Fall River.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Kennedy Park]]

Fall River retains a vibrant mix of cultures that date back to its time as an immigration hub. While the distinct ethnic neighborhoods formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have changed over the years, the legacy of immigrants who came to work in the mills can be found in the various parishes and restaurants throughout the city. This heritage is commemorated by the 19 flags which make up the "Banners of Allegiance" at Gromada Plaza.<ref name="Jasinski">{{cite news |last1=Jasinski |first1=Peter |title=Flags vanish from downtown Fall River, but for a good reason |url=https://www.heraldnews.com/news/20190927/flags-vanish-from-downtown-fall-river-but-for-good-reason |access-date=September 14, 2020 |publisher=Fall River Herald News |date=September 27, 2019 |quote=Intended as a way to represent the city’s diverse population and the nations they hailed from, the flags honored a variety of countries including Lebanon, Greece and Brazil. |archive-date=August 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810193553/https://www.heraldnews.com/news/20190927/flags-vanish-from-downtown-fall-river-but-for-good-reason |url-status=dead }}</ref> Erected in 1979 across from City Hall (and restored in 2019), this landmark commemorates the diverse nationalities of Fall River's residents.<ref name="Jasinski" />

The city is host to several ethnic festivals throughout the year. The largest, the '''Great Feast of the Holy Ghost''', occurs each August at [[Kennedy Park (Fall River, Massachusetts)|Kennedy Park]] and attracts "more than 100,000 visitors."<ref name="SCT2024">{{cite news |last1=da Silva |first1=Lurdes |title=Fall River's Great Feast of the Holy Ghost: Your guide to parades, music, food and more |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/lifestyle/faith/2024/07/29/great-feast-of-the-holy-ghost-of-new-england-fall-river-guide-to-music-parades-food-azorean-culture/74509567007/ |access-date=2 August 2024 |agency=South Coast Today |publisher=O Jornal |date=29 July 2024 |quote=On Thursday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m., a special illumination ceremony will turn on thousands of bulbs, lighting up the giant crown in Kennedy Park, representing the Holy Spirit, and other decorations on the feast grounds.}}</ref> The feast is held over a total of four days and includes parades, music, food, and a crowning ceremony and procession featuring local dignitaries and guests from Portugal, Brazil, and the Azores.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ojornal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17082572&BRD=2677&PAG=461&dept_id=543384&rfi=6|title=O Jornal|website=The Herald News, Fall River, MA}}</ref><ref name="SCT2024" />

Each summer, the city uses its waterfront at Heritage State Park and [[Battleship Cove]] for a Fourth of July fireworks display. For many years, the waterfront also hosted the annual Fall River Celebrates America Festival, sponsored by the Fall River Chamber of Commerce. The event was suspended in 2010 due to lack of financial support stemming from [[Great Recession in the United States|the Great Recession]]. While the Chamber of Commerce hoped to hold the event again in 2011, it has not been held since.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1621118003/Fall-River-Celebrates-America-cancelled|title=Fall River Celebrates America canceled}}</ref>

=== Performing arts ===
A number of community organizations have made concerted efforts to promote the arts in the city, using vacant mill space for studios and performance centers. The [[Narrows Center for the Arts]], located on Anawan Street, has been played by a number of national and international acts since its opening in 2001, including [[Rosanne Cash]], [[Los Lobos]], [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[Dr. John]], [[The Avett Brothers]], [[Richie Havens]], [[Lake Street Dive]] and [[Susan Tedeschi]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=narrowsadmin|date=October 5, 2011|title=Live Music - Fall River, MA Waterfront|url=https://www.narrowscenter.org/ticket-information/|access-date=August 10, 2021|website=www.narrowscenter.org|language=en-US}}</ref> A proposal is in place to revitalize the downtown area by the creation of an Arts District. Along with the art centers being established throughout the city, Fall River has numerous Portuguese/Community Bands throughout the city that perform throughout the year.

=== Visual arts ===
In 2020, artists and Fall River natives Harry Gould Harvey IV and Brittni Ann Harvey opened the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art (Fall River MoCA) in the first floor of a former mill on Bedford Street.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Murphy|first=Linda|title=Fall River's new contemporary art museum, FR MoCA, opens Friday|url=https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/2020/10/16/fall-rivers-new-contemporary-art-museum-fr-moca-opens-friday/114424774/|access-date=August 10, 2021|website=The Herald News|language=en-US}}</ref> The museum aims to "create culturally relevant programming that is in dialog with the global contemporary art world."<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us — FR MoCA|url=https://frmoca.org/About-Us|access-date=August 10, 2021|website=frmoca.org|language=en}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Multiple image
| header = Religion
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| image1= Saint Mary's Cathedral, Fall River, Massachusetts 2017.jpg
| caption1 = St. Mary's Cathedral
| image2 = First Congregational Church of Fall River, Massachusetts 2013.jpg
| caption2 = First Congregational Church
| image3= St. Anne's Church and Parish Complex Fall River massachusetts.jpg
| caption3 = St. Anne's Church
| image4 = Temple Beth-El, Fall River Massachusetts.jpg
| caption4 = Temple Beth-El
| image5 = Khmer Buddhist Temple, Fall River Massachusetts.jpg
| caption5 = Khmer Buddhist Temple
}}
Fall River remains a predominantly Roman Catholic city due to the French Canadians who first populated the city, and is the seat of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River]]. [[St. Mary's Cathedral and Rectory|St. Mary's Cathedral]] was formed in the 1850s by Irish immigrants; [[Edgar Moreira da Cunha|Edgar DaCunha]] has served as bishop since 2014. [[Santo Christo Church (Fall River, Massachusetts)|Santo Christo Parish]] on Columbia Street is known as the Mother Church of the Portuguese parishes in the diocese. The Church was established in 1892 to serve the local Portuguese community, Many of whom came from the Azorean island of São Miguel. Other notable Catholic churches include [[St. Anne's Church and Parish Complex|St. Anne's Church]], Good Shepherd Church (formerly Saint Patrick's), and the former [[Notre Dame de Lourdes Church (Fall River, Massachusetts)|Notre Dame de Lourdes]] in the Flint neighborhood, which was destroyed in a large fire on May 10, 1982. At the time of the city's peak population in 1920, there were over two dozen Catholic parishes existing throughout the city, with each ethnic enclave having its own parish. In recent years, the diocese has merged several parishes in the city, closing some and renaming the united congregations, bringing the total number of parishes in the diocese to ten as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of Parishes|url=https://www.fallriverdiocese.org/list-of-parishes/|access-date=August 10, 2021|website=Fall River Diocese|language=en-US}}</ref> St. Louis the King Church closed in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|author=Stewardson, Jack|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20000523/News/305239993|title=Another Fall River church will close|newspaper=[[South Coast Today]]|date=May 23, 2000|access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref>

Historically, the Highlands neighborhood was predominantly Protestant, with several churches in the area of North Main and Rock Streets, notably including the [[Central Congregational Church (Fall River, Massachusetts)|Central Congregational Church]] and the First Congregational Church, known for hosting many New England luminaries before its demise in a fire in the 1980s.

German Jewish settlers arrived in Fall River beginning in the 1860s and continuing into the 1870s.<ref name="EJ" /> The 1880s and 1890s saw the arrival of Russian Jewish immigrants.<ref name="EJ" /> At the start of the 20th century, Fall River was home to three synagogues.<ref name="EJ" /> The Jewish community historically worked in peddling, retail, and clothing stores.<ref name="EJ" /> Temple Beth-El was founded in 1924 on High Street.<ref name="EJ" /> In 1970 there were three congregations serving 4,000 Jews in Fall River; by 2008 that number had declined to less than 1,000.<ref name="EJ">{{cite web |title=Encyclopedia Judaica: Fall River, Massachusetts |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/fall-river |website=Jewish Virtual Library |publisher=American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise |access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref>

Various other ethno-religious groups also live in the city. Recent arrivals from Cambodia and India maintain temples in the city, such as [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Khmer-Buddhist-Temple-Wat-Udomsaharatanaram/332037970309713?sk=info&tab=overview Wat Udomsaharatanaram] and [http://www.swaminarayan.org/ BAPS Shri Swaminarayanwasi].