USA: The Mangalorean Catholic Association-EC Inc., USA (MCA-EC Inc.) celebrated their annual ‘Christmas Gala 2015’ on December 19th at Akbar Banquet Hall, Edison, New Jersey.
Over 370 people from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Connecticut, Indianapolis, Virginia, California areas gathered together for this celebration. The program was kick-started by Arine Aranha (Vice- President), who welcomed all the guests and introduced the Emcees for the initial part of the program who were none other than the MCA’s favorite teens, Clayton Monis and Susanna D’Souza. The Emcees did an outstanding job in keeping up the tempo of the event and entertaining the guests.
At the entrance the guests had their Holiday pictures taken by a professional photographer from Cosmic Media against a beautiful Christmas backdrop. The decorations of the venue were designed and put up by Party Zenith LLC (partners –Arine Aranha and Bernie Dsouza) along with the help of some dedicated volunteers. Once everyone had time to meet & greet their friends and acquaintances and settle down, it was time for some delicious appetizers. During this time there was “Carol Singing” by our talented kids and adults from the association to chime in the spirit of Christmas. As the Carol singing was winding down, Mr. and Mrs. Santa walked into the hall and led all the kids on a Christmas march across the hall. They delighted all the kids by giving them goody bags filled with chocolates.
MCA-EC youth put up a fantastic light show performance on the Christmas theme which was a first ever for the organization, this was coordinated by Arine Aranha. Everyone was impressed to see their co-ordination and the amazing images they conjured up to the beat of the Christmas music. Not to be out done, the younger kids put up a candy dance show which was loved by all, they all looked gorgeous in their Christmas themed outfits. The evening was galore with everyone in their beautiful festive outfits and the special magic that was brought about by the heart thumping mixes by DJ Gladson Cardoza. For the dance session there was captivating live performance and compering by Ernest D’Souza who kept everyone grooving on the dance floor.
MCA-EC’s president, Mark Mendonca thanked everyone for their support during the year and introduced the Executive Board along with their spouses to the members – Arine Aranha (Vice-President), Dylon D’Souza(General Secretary), Rodney Quadros (Treasurer) and Paul Quadras ( Regional Coordinator). After that Dylon D’Souza(General Secretary) introduced each of the sponsors. Each of the sponsors were thanked and felicitated for the support they have been providing to the organization and were presented a token gift by Paul Quadras. The sponsors for the event were Babco Foods (Bob and Olivia Vaz), Golden Era & Second Innings( Ajay Patel), Atlantic Subsea (Vinod Menezes) , DTDC( Harry Pinto), Deen Fashions (Harish & Naveen), NORMASCO (Vincent Fernandes) and Arun Menezes.
The MCA-EC has been growing and has made great strides since the beginning of this year when it was registered as a 501 (C)(3) organization. The Executive Board has put in tremendous efforts to lay the foundation so as to propel the organization in the right direction over the next few years. During the event, two teens Meldon Mendonca and Darrel D’souza who are leading an educational charity program – “For the kids, by the kids”, spoke few words about this program, encouraging others to join them.
At the Gala, prizes were given out to the Virtual Crib Contest Winners – Jaden Pinto (1st Place), Luke Menezes (2nd Place) and Jonathan Pinto (3rd Place). There was also a Christmas Raffle and the winners won grand prizes, top prize being Two JetBlue round trip tickets for within the USA. There were numerous other raffle prizes given out such as wine baskets, specialty chocolate baskets, and gift certificates.
The vote of thanks was given by Rodney Quadros, who thanked everyone on behalf of the Executive Board for their help in putting up a fantastic event. He specially thanked all the various volunteers and the participants who put in time and effort for the light show, candy dance, Christmas Carols and for those who came to help decorate the hall.
The MCA-EC Executive Board wishes all its families and friends a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2015.
Candy Dance: Isha, Kiera , Angeline , Ava , Ross , Nathan , Joel , Matthew
Carol Singing: Barbara , Venisha , Shilpa , Vanitha , Joyline , Saritha , Josline , Merlin , Violet , Anita , Bernie , Gladwin , Vijai , Venora , Melanie , Michelle, Vinuth
Light Show: Melody , Ross , Michelle , Venora , Nikki , Melanie , Cleon , Jayden , Meldon , Jonathan , Orran , Darryl , Susanna
Carol Singing Music Composed By: Vijai
