Media Release
Virginia, Dec 19: After celebrating last year’s Christmas event virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mangalorean Catholic Association (MCA) of Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia Christmas 2021event returned to an in-person event on December 11 at the banquet hall of Tandoori Restaurant & Party Palace in Fairfax, Virginia.
Approximately 100 attendees relished the opportunity to reunite in-person with friends and families they had not seen for almost two years due to the ongoing pandemic. This year, the organizing committee restricted the attendance for the event to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols as stipulated by state and local bodies and closed the registration several days early, when the capacity was reached.
As attendees arrived, the registration team of MCA Treasurer Nicole Racadag and MCA Committee Member Nirmala Pinto handed out the gift bags containing the beautifully designed mementos, the personalized Christmas cards, and programme booklets to each family. It was great to see everyone attending the function with their masks on as requested by the host.
The banquet hall catered appetizers and drinks to the attendees at the start of the programme. The MC trio, comprised of MCA Vice President Clint Almeida, Julia Dante, and Committee Member Merlyn Mathias, started the program in style by conducting the children’s games and decorating the Christmas tree.
MCA president V James Dante extended a warm welcome to everyone on behalf of his committee and declared the Carnival event open, while underscoring the importance of everyone gathering safely together to celebrate the spirit of the season.
It would not be a Christmas party without a guest appearance by Santa himself and this year, the MCA had Santa arrive from the North Pole on his new modern sleigh, a Jeep driven by the Grinch Desmond Andrade’s, accompanied by his Elves, and carrying gifts for the children in attendance.
It also would not be a carnival without some fun entertainment thrown into the mix and this year, most of the attendees came in colorful ‘Ugly Sweaters,’ to complement the theme of the event. In advance of the event, MCA encouraged all attendees to dress for the carnival in their ugliest, wackiest Christmas sweaters for the chance to showcase their festive outfits and win a prize. The MCA members stood up to the challenge of parading their 'Ugly Sweaters' on a ramp walk. 11-year-old Ethan Almeida was awarded the prize for the ugliest sweater of the night.
The MC trio conducted the entire program by complementing each other excellently. The games for adults and children were very interesting and garnered full participation from attendees. This year, the Mangalurean community was blessed to receive a special Christmas video message from His Eminence Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, India, and the video message was played to attendees during the event. While some attendees then proceeded to enjoy the dinner catered by the banquet hall, dance enthusiasts hit the floor to enjoy musical numbers from DJs John Lee and Carol Figueroa. Several exciting raffle prizes were awarded during dinner, including an Instate, overnight stays at the Marriott in Gaithersburg, Christmas gift baskets, and a hi-def Smart TV.
Later, the dancing continued with several spot prizes announced by the MCs. As the last item of the event, several MCA ladies performed group Christmas carol singing to rapturous applause.
This MCA Christmas Carnival 2021 event would not have been possible without the efforts of the committee members and volunteers who executed many of the critical tasks, including managing the registration desk, designing the banner and mementos, setting up the venue, organizing the program, and coordinating the carol singing etc. Special thanks go to MCA Secretary Reynel Castellino, who designed the beautiful Carnival banner as well the delightful memento sets.