MCA-EC Holds Annual Christmas Gala
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, falalala la la la la la la. When you hear such Christmas carols being played everywhere you go, you know that Christmas is near. Ah! Christmas the birth of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, what a joyous, festive season this is, celebrated by everyone Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, name it, all join in together to celebrate this beautiful festival.
USA: The very vibrant MCA-EC group had their own celebration too, albeit a few weeks earlier. The MCA-EC had their Annual Christmas Gala on December 10, at Chutney Mary (now known as Ember) in New Jersey.
Around 375 people came from various different states on the East Coast ranging from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. There was a lot of planning and effort involved in the weeks leading up to this event. Given that this is the largest event in the MCA-EC calendar, the Executive Board left no stone unturned in ensuring that the attendees of the events have a memorable, splendid and unforgettable evening.
The event began at sharp 6 PM Eastern Time. As soon as people had themselves checked in by the very beautiful Treasurer Violet Monis and the General Secretary Sydney Lasrado. The Emcee for the night were the ravishing Loviena Mascarenhas and in the most dapper attire Rodney Quadros. The two of them took the crowd on a wonderful journey filled with laughter and entertainment, spreading cheer along with that wonderful Christmas joy throughout the entire event.
There was Caroling sung by the various Vados kids which were co-ordinated by the ever cheerful and effervescent Vice President Anita Pinto. It was such a pleasure to hear these young kids sing those Carols, their melodious and warm voices echoed a Christmassy feeling through the banquet hall.
The President Bernie Pinto-D’souza felicitated the past presidents of MCA-EC. It was a delightful sight to see all the past presidents of MCA-EC all present together at the podium. MCA-EC has come a long way achieving great heights solely possible due to each of those Presidents along with their respective team members. It was because of their hard work and vision, that MCA-EC has crossed unimaginable milestones today. The past presidents of MCA-EC are Mark Mendonca, Manesh Aranha, Arun Menezes, Roshan D’Mello, Steven Aranha and Gladwin D’souza,God bless them all.
As the event commenced, people were seen mingling with each other having a gala of a time, sharing stories, jokes, as well as reminiscing old memories. In the midst of all this, there was one old man with a big paunch who decided to show up and took everyone by surprise. Yes, I am talking about Dear Old Santa Claus. The kids were elated and started shouting “Oh Dear Santa how we so fondly love you!” And then proceeded to ask where are my presents! Just kidding, they were elated that their Dear Santa Claus travelled so many miles from the North Pole to come to New Jersey just to meet them.
Now you may ask, the food, carol singing, photo booth, Santa etc all have been mentioned, but there was no mention of music at all. Don’t worry folks, MCA-EC didn’t have a ‘Silent Night’ that day, in fact they had arranged for one of the best bands in New Jersey led by Vernon Kamath. Vernon and his team ensured that there was not a single idle moment during the entire event, each and every song that their band performed had people by the dozens on the dance floor, strutting their moves, singing out loud, like they say, setting the roof on fire (not literally ;)).
Another very exciting and interesting programme was the ‘Christmas Light show’ performed by the talented youth of MCA-EC. Looking at their show-stopping performance one can easily say that these Mangalorean’s got the best talent! Kudos to Arine Aranha for choreographing this show and also a big thank you to all the parents of the kids who took time out of their busy schedule to ensure that their kids made it for every practice.
Setting up great events at an affordable rate for everyone is possible only by generous sponsors. They along with all the people who helped made the MCA-EC Christmas Gala event were all thanked by the ever bubbly and intelligent Treasurer Violet Monis. The Spiritual Director Sr Gretta said Grace before Dinner. The party continued till midnight with the band playing non-stop foot tapping numbers. One who attended the event will surely resonate the same sentiments.
The Christmas Gala was another smash hit event organised by the MCA-EC Board. This was made possible by the hard work and untiring efforts by various people. When you make an effort to spread joy and love to others, that feeling is acknowledged and then spread further. Christmas is the time where you spread love and joy with your loved ones, and it was very evident that was exactly what each and everyone showcased that night. To add to this joy, MCA-EC has decided to donate to various charities namely Catholic charities of Metuchen diocese, Big Brothers and big sisters and the Seminarians of the Carmelites congregation in Mangalore. At the end of the party, there was just smiles on each and everyone ones faces as well as their hands full with the takeaway kuswar.
The grand finale was the raffle prizes, the jackpot being the pair of round trip tickets by Etihad Airways donated by the Airways per kind favour of Steven Aranha and Maxim D’Souza is lucky to win this prize.
Christmas Light show participants: Sasha, Isha, Nikki, Nathan, Matthew, Ross,Jadon, Neil, Cleon, Joey, Jonathan, Meldon, Venora, Melanie, Michelle and Melody.
by Sydney Lasrado, General Secretary