The 6th biennial North American Goan Reunion was recently held in Southern California for the first time since its inception. The Reunion gave Goans from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, England and India the opportunity to come together as a Community to share in various events held over a 4-day period.
The first event was led by the dynamic duo of Terence Mascarenhas and Ralph Figueiredo, representing the Young Adults in the Los Angeles area. The night began with dinner at Mum�s Restaurant in Long Beach, California, where around 20 young adults gathered to share in a casual dinner. Local Los Angeles Goan youth welcomed a new community of friends from San Diego, Boston, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., Chicago and Toronto. The night ended with dancing and drinks at Club Cohiba, a well-known dancing establishment in the Long Beach area. The second event, held in El Dorado Park in Long Beach, was blessed with great weather and excellent leadership under the direction of Maria Mehegan. Nearly 300 Goans from across the world came together to share in old times and create new memories. Children joined in the candy race, sack race, 3-legged race & shoe search. Trevor Rodrigues then led the community in prayer where he blessed the community, our families and friends. Maria closed the prayer with a special song, America the Beautiful, a fitting tribute to the land that has granted us freedom and allowed many of us the opportunity to explore the riches of migrating from Goa and other countries to America. After everyone ate their fill at the all-you-can-eat bbq lunch catered by Spectular Catering, parents & kids joined in the father/son beer bottle race and the mother/daughter balloon race, balloon toss and brown bag toss for seniors over 65. After sweating it out at the Tug of War, people sat down to play a game of Bingo. The event came to a close with a special treat from a local Los Angeles Goan, Quitty Cardoza, who donated tea and ele-beles for the crowd to enjoy, a great way to add a special Goan touch to the event. Local residents brought snacks/desserts to share and in the true Goan tradition, there was an abundance of treats. After the picnic, visitors staying on the Queen Mary and a few of the local Goans gathered aboard the �Grand Lady of the Sea� for a spectacular fireworks display to honor America. The largest event of the weekend was held on Saturday aboard the Queen Mary, where 386 people came together to share in a special evening. The event, held in the beautiful Britannia Salon & Deck gave our guests the opportunity to enjoy a true Southern California evening on a private outside deck; those who wished to remain warm, gathered inside with food and drink to strengthen past relationships and welcome new people into their lives. Terence Mascarenhas welcomed the Community, Fr. Owen De Souza led us in prayer and Gerard Rodrigues started the festivities with a welcome to all who had joined from near and far. Special thanks went out to Joyce Menezes from Bombay, Rene & Maria Barreto from England and the 25+ people who made the trip from Canada for this special weekend. Memories created that night includes a special Mando performance by a group of Goans from Northern California who danced in typical Goan costumes. George Pinto then talked about the Goa Sudharop Community Development, Inc., a non-profit organization that raises money for charities and projects in Goa and the reason for this event. Guests were also entertained with the performance of a Konkanim skit, 'Soirikek Vetam' written and directed by Anthony Diniz, which kept the crowd entertained. The cast included Viviano Furtado, Ralph Monteiro, Annie De Souza, Felix Fernandes, Angelo Nazareth and Pascal Mascarenhas. Maxie Mascarenhas and Noel Da Costa provided the music. People also joined in singing of the �Shining Star� also written and composed by Anthony Diniz. Several lucky winners went home with some nice raffle prizes. Our sincere thanks to our donors and our sponsors who made the Program possible. Mr. Terence Pereira from Toronto thanked the committee on behalf of the Toronto contingent for a wonderful weekend. Young and old danced the night away to the music of the "Heartbeat Band" and when midnight came around, no one wanted to leave. The last and final event of the weekend evolved around members of the community from Los Angeles and abroad coming together in prayer at St. Anthony�s Catholic Church. Fr. Jose celebrated the Mass and extended a special welcome to the Goan community. Trevor and Gerard Rodrigues participated in the liturgy by taking up the gifts to the altar; Fr. Jose blessed the Goan community on this special weekend. Those who did not have to travel to other destinations or who were not too tired, gathered for one last time at Parker�s Lighthouse in Long Beach for lunch, a fitting location on an outside patio with the Queen Mary in viewing distance. Congratulations for a job well done to the Organizing Committee (Anthony Diniz, Ralph Figueiredo, Maxie Mascarenhas, Pascal & Patsy Mascarenhas, Terence Mascarenhas, Maria Mehegan, Gerard Rodrigues and Augusta Rodrigues) and their families. Our sincere thanks to our many sponsors and volunteers for helping us make this a successful and wonderful weekend. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
