Pics: Alen Dias, Ashton Alva
Report: Maureen Crasta
Houston, Apr 19: Houston Konkan Catholic Association (HKCA) held their much-awaited Easter party on Sunday, April 17 at the Knights of Columbus Events Center in The Woodlands with more than a hundred people from the Konkan community gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The event began with master of ceremonies, Ronald Crasta, extending a warm welcome to the gathering and outlining the exciting activities that would unfold during the day. A prayer followed this in Konkani led by Maxi Pereira who also delivered a very meaningful Easter message to the gathering.
President, Vivian Madtha then reinforced HKCA’s commitment towards strengthening the Konkan culture and encouraged members to participate in all of HKCA's events wholeheartedly.
The guests then settled down to enjoy delicious appetisers of Veg Pakoras and Chicken Manchurian with Masala Chai, while youth director, Sheryl Machado led a group of eager kids outdoors to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt. This was followed by a session of games for both kids and adults, which provided an excellent opportunity for participants to familiarise themselves with each other.
The musical performances of the day that began with a strong emphasis on budding talent were led by Nikita D’Souza (10) and Karina D’Souza (5) singing the Konkani hymn 'Argah Tukha Somiya'. They were then joined by Trinity Fernandes (5) and Ellie Fernandes (6) in a dance performance of Bollywood’s hit song 'Dil Hai Chota Sa', followed by 'Can’t stop this feeling' and ending with the peppy 'Undra Muja Maama' which greatly amused the audience and got them singing along.
It was then the turn of youngsters Sneha and Samika Sequeira to give a soulful rendition of 'Amazing Love' and 'My Redeemer Lives' in keeping with the religious significance of Easter, which was greatly appreciated by all. The phenomenally talented Michael Moras accompanied by Dhruva Krishna then took guests back in time with a musical explosion of country rock-and-roll numbers, followed by Konkani songs 'Maria' and 'Mogh Tuzo Kitlo Ashelo' made by Konkani Kogul Wilfy Remimbus, and ending with a selection of wildly popular bailas that had the guests clamouring for more. The stage was then taken over by young Joshua Moras singing 'How far I’ll go from the movie Moana’. His brother Liam Moras, not to be outdone, thrilled the audience with a stellar performance of 'Radioactive' from the 'Imagine Dragons'. Truly, the kids did a marvellous job in entertaining the audience.
No event is complete without a wholesome meal, and Asha Pinto led the ‘Grace before meals' after which the guests happily relished the mouth-watering spread of traditional homemade food and ending with the hot favourite dessert.
President Vivian Madtha provided members with a 'Look into the Future' detailing upcoming events and support services for youth and adults, and entreated members to volunteer for HKCA activities. The HKCA banner was then presented to the audience with credit going to Valerian Alva for his efforts in getting it designed and printed. A certificate of appreciation was awarded to Sheryl D’souza for her creative work in designing the HKCA logo. Allen D’Souza, communications director then took the floor to unveil HKCA’s brand new website www.hkcaus.org and it was a moment of pride for the founding members as the website was transferred from demo to live status amidst loud applause. He then
went on to explain some of the functionalities available to website visitors.
It was time for DJ Chris Pinto to get the audience to their feet with a medley of English and Hindi chartbusters that had the audience breaking into line dances and energetic Bollywood dance steps. The last session of the day was the much anticipated Bingo, and the Easter event culminated with Maxi Pereira giving a vote of thanks to all those who went over and beyond in making it a grand success.