Picnic 2007

The weather was definately on our side...

Despite the modest turnout, this year's picnic was enjoyed by all. The picnic was held this year at Voyageur Provincial Park, located in Chute-a-Blondeau, Ontario. The beautiful weather and good company kept the crowd chatting, playing dodgeball and going canoeing. Everyone kept themselves entertained and then as usual, came together to enjoy the BBQ prepared by the voluntary cooks. The day wound down following supper and all theparticipants went their own way. Let's keep this in mind until next yeat, where we hope on enjoying the day with even more of you!

Check out some photos from this year's picnic here

Sri Lankan New Year 2007

SLCAM Kicks Off the Year on a High Note

The 2007 SLCAM New Year celebration took place this year at Ganesha Party Palace, in Ville Saint-Laurent. As guests started trickling in for the evening, old faces caught up with old friends and new faces got to know new friends. Things got started with Minesh Perera, once again, moving the night’s proceedings along as master of ceremonies.

This year, however, Minesh found a new ‘partner in crime’, Dina De Zoysa. The two of them did an amazing job of not only keeping items rolling in an entertaining fashion but also explaining traditions for those of us who were experiencing such an event for the first (but hopefully not last) time. Following their opening skit, key figures in the community participated in the traditional ‘lighting of the lamp’ and ‘boiling of the milk’. This was followed by some words from the SLCAM President and Vice-President Samangi De Silva and Sudesh Sandrasagra, respectively. Their messages were concluded with an introduction of the 2007 SLCAM Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Their speeches were followed by ones from His Excellency, the High Commissioner W.J.S Karunaratne from Ottawa as well as the Sri Lankan Honorary Counsel for Montreal, Alain Bonneau.

The night continued with some delicious snacks being served while guests proceeded to mingle. This brought the show to the cultural part of the evening which included a dance, some music, the ‘Avurudhu Kumaraya/Kumari’ contest and lots of games. Sathya Ramachandran kicked things off with another one of her amazing dances. Guests were then treated to some singing courtesy of Kanthi De Silva and Wesley Kulasegaram, Dr.Senani Wickramasinghe and Aliasger Akberally. These songs were all accompanied by Laya Alles, Manjula Alles, Janaka Abeyaratna, Shammeera Alles and Randolph Aloysius. The items continued with the ‘Avurudhu Kumaraya/Kumari’ contest as well as games for all the kids in the hall, both young and old. The games consisted of ‘pinning the tail on the elephant’, a very amusing ‘bun-eating contest’ and a cross between a treasure hunt and musical chairs.

Dinner was next on the list and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The spread was very complete and many helped themselves to seconds and thirds. Dinner also came with the opening of the bar which was ‘manned’ very successfully by Trina Kulasegaram. Raffle and door prizes were also handed out to a few lucky winners.

The SLCAM would like to sincerely thank the following individuals for their generous donations
Mr. Raveendra Chelliah - Deenson Auto Inc.
Mrs. Sudesh Sandrasagera - House of Travel Global Alliance
Mr. Aliasger Akberally - Reseau Immobilier Adresz
Mr(s) Ferhan and Feroz Patel - AlertPay Inc.
Ms. Christine Bove - National Basketball Association

To top off the night, in usual SLCAM fashion, guests danced and danced until it was time to leave. Another succesful New Year...

Can’t Wait Until Next Year!

Christmas Party 2006

Santa Claus and Karaoke, What More Can One Ask?

As the final event on the 2006 calendar, the SLCAM was able to end the year off on a high note. The location, restaurant Delhi Fort, in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue was a good fit for what the committee had in mind.

The evening began with the usual mingling and cocktails as everyone slowly arrived. Trina did an amazing job of ‘manning’ the bar and handling anything and everything that was requested from the guests. The DJ kept the mood lively as everyone socialized. We were then fortunate enough to be graced with the presence of the one and only Santa Claus who made his rounds and distributed gifts to the little ones.

With a new twist this year, Minesh led the group in a caroling session with the help of a karaoke machine. As everyone got settled the food was served in a buffet-style and greatly enjoyed by all. And as usual, there is no better way to work off that meal than to hit the dance floor which everyone did. The dancing was shortly interrupted for the door prizes which were graciously donated by various companies and individuals. Once that was done the dancing continued in true SLCAM style until the early morning.

Sri Lankan New Year Celebration 2006

New Venue Proves to be a Hit

With abated breath we awaited the arrival of the Sri Lankan New Year Celebration. Finally the 22nd of April arrived. But so did the uninvited rain. However, in spite of the bad weather, the undaunted members of the SLCAM and their many friends gathered at the roomy Ganesha Palace Restaurant in Ville St Laurent, for this important Party. Close to 150 guests were present to celebrate our New Year, which incidentally had already arrived on the 14th of April.

Armed with a wireless microphone our cool and efficient MC (Minesh Perera) started the ball rolling, a little past 6 pm. As usual the opening ceremony was the lighting of the traditional brass lamp. The Chief Guest, Hon. Consul General Mr Alain Bonneau, was invited to light the lamp, followed by our President and past Presidents, while traditional ceremonial drum music played in the background. Soon after our curent Office Bearers were presented to the guests. Following a few brief speeches by our President and other VIPs present, it was the time for short eats. Although the traditional New Year fare is quite elaborate, only a token serving of the appetizing food was offered here. After which the guests leaned back on their chairs to enjoy the Cultural Show presented. And enjoy they did. Many varieties of dance forms were presented, displaying the multitalents of the young participants. Attired in attractive and colourful costumes, the dancers performed flawlessly, receiving waves of applause from the audience.
After that delightful show, the Buffet and the Cash Bar was opened. And everyone present in that hall had a delicious and very satisfying Sri Lankan dinner. A heavy meal and a small rest period, naturally led the people to the dance floor. And soon dancing began in earnest, punctuated only by drawing of door prices and raffles. Towards midnight the guests slowly trickled out, closing the curtains to yet another fantastic New Year Party. We sincerely thank the hard working organizers Kanthi de Silva, Princy Sabapathy, Trina Kulasegaram and Minesh Perera as well as the many many others who shouldered various responsibilities, in making this event a remarkable success.

Car Wash 2007

Car Wash a Huge Success

This summer's Car Wash was a huge success. It was held at the Esso station facing Fairview Shopping Center on St-Jean blvd in Pointe-Claire. The organizers and other volunteers fought off other local car washing competition and managed to service over 30 cars! Thanks to the volume of cars and additional donations of clients, the SLCAM raised over $200.

We look forward to next summer to do it all over again.

Annual General Meeting 2006

2007 Committee Elected with Some New Faces

The Annual General Meeting was held last November at the Ganesha restaurant in Ville Saint-Laurent. The turnout was good with some new and eager faces. Following the usual recap of the past year and financial updates, the assignment process began and here’s how it resulted once the dust settled.

Samangi De Silva and Sudesh Sandrasagra re-accepted the President and Vice President roles, respectively. Milinda De Silva stayed on as Treasurer with newcomer Abdul Aliasger. Trina Kulasegaram switched things up and was appointed Secretary with another newcomer, Adnaan Hussain. The Social activities will be spearheaded by returning director Janaka Abeyaratna and newcomer Nilmini De Silva. Aliasger Akberally re-accepted the Membership and Welfare role with newcomer Dina De Zoysa. The Fundraising positions were taken by Geethal Fernando and newcomer Hashana Perera. Kanthi De Silva stayed on as Director of Cultural Activities. Finally, the Communication roles were taken on by returning members Minesh Perera and Shammeera Alles.
This new committee will have the daunting task of outdoing a successful 2006 but they have the drive and ideas to do so and will succeed without a doubt. If you’d like to become directly involved in next year’s committee, keep an eye out for the next AGM sometime in November.

Picnic/Hopper Night 2006

Great Success Despite the Weather

Our Annual Picnic this year had a new twist. The Picnic was combined with the Hopper Night. And it was a rollicking success. This event was held on Saturday the 15th of July, at the Voyageur Park, on Highway 417, in Ontario. Our summer this year, had a fair share of wet weather. Hence, close to the appointed date some of members of the Executive Commitee were rather jittery about the July 15th weather. Close to the said date, there was a lot of anxious communications and consultations of the weather forecast. And relying on the forecast provided the date was unchanged. However, one day before the day of the Picnic, they changed their tune. And Saturday the 15th started with torrential monsoon type rain. In the morning there were two or three downpours, as if someone breached the lock gates in the sky. Perhaps it was a good thing. Because afterwards the sky cleared and gave full sunshine for the SLCAM Picnic/hopper night.

The turn out for this event was far more than what we expected. There was a potluck lunch for noon. And then eventually the games started. Games like Dodge Ball, Cricket, Tug-of-War, Lime and the Spoon, etc attracted the participant especially when the blue skies brought the sunshine. Soon after, the Hopper “manufacturing” was inaugurated. Seven very kind ladies had volunteered to man the seven Propane Stoves, each equipped with two burners and two ‘thachiyas’. It was double barreled hopper production. Hoppers, egg-hoppers and mouth watering curries, formed a sumptuous outdoor dinner for the picnickers. This was topped up by delicious desserts and a most welcome Sri Lankan Tea. Then as the sun sank into the western horizon, our very enjoyable picnic came to a close.

We have to sincerely thank our indefatigable organizers, Trina, Minesh, Kanthi and others, especially those gentle ladies who worked so hard behind the stoves in producing our much appreciated dinner.

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