It’s finally arrived! This is the day we have been spending months planning for – Guyana’s Golden Jubilee Gala Evening. We sold almost 470 tickets. That is a record- breaking sale for the Caribbean community.
The day started out with finalizing the room set up at Canad Inn, Polo Park. General Manager and personal friend Fareez Kassim and his staff outdid themselves in preparing the room for the event. I could not have asked for better service, which was exemplary, right down to the red carpet, ceiling to floor chandeliers, wine fountain, bars, themed banquet hall with lights and napkins in the colours of the Guyanese flag and a stage with a flag draped backdrop, large screen TV monitors around the room and a fantastic sound system that was perfect for the room. The menu was exactly as we requested and served cold (for things cold) and hot (for things hot) even after we delayed the start by running a bit late. The guest list had some local celebrities:
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| Carmen Muller-Honorary Consul for Peru, Helle Wilson-Honorary Consul for Denmark |
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| Natalie Desesovych-Honorary Consul for Norway (in red); Carol Girling–Registrar at Red River College (in blue) |
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| Inspector Gord Friesen-Winnipeg Police (in blue) |
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| Deputy Mayor Mike Pagtakahn, his wife, me |
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| Ron Shculer, Minister of Crown Affairs (tieless) |
The keynote speaker was Mrs. Riehl who was asked to speak on the theme of One People, One Nation, One Destiny – Guyana’s motto.
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| High Commissioner Clarissa Reihl, me, Guyanese Counsellor Marsha Caddett |
Four seniors from the Guyanese community were honoured for their contributions to Guyana and Canada . They were Mr. Bristol, Mrs. Kitt and my father-in-law, Rod Sukhan. They are all over 90 years old and their list of significant contributions is long. It would be great to have each of their stories recorded for future generations.
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| Mrs Tara Dabee (92 years old; with white head scarf) |
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| Mr. Richard Bristol (90 years old) |
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| Mr. Rod Sukhan (90 years old and my father-in-law) |
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| Mrs. Kitt (92 years old)
We had letters from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and newly minted Manitoba Premier, Brian Pallister and I also wrote one to the Guyanese community.
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Then I had our friends and supporters of course my family.
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| L to R: Bibi, Hana, Sharm |
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| Hanif and Rod |
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| My mom |
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| Me, Clarissa |
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| ROd, Frank and Helle Wilson |
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| Natalie Denesovych |
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| Mom Bayney, Sophie, Sunita |
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| Reno and wife (a corporate sponsor of this event) |
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| Me and Marsha enjoying our yummy meal |
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| L to R: Mohamed, Bibi, Mom Bayney, Sophie, Sunita, Sharm, Trent, Breen, Hana |
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| Flor Marcelino, Leader of the Opposition |
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| Hugh and Merle (a corporate sponsor of this event) |
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| Stuffed chicken breast |
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| Master of Ceremonies – Ozzy Garrett |
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| Robin, Me, Clarissa |
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| Stacy, Aubrey, Kim, Me |
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| Clarissa, Me, Marsha |
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| Trent, Sharm |
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| me |
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| Me, Robin |
All in all, it was a splendid evening! Worth all the hard work over many months.
