Abu Dhabi: Immensely Successful ‘Christmas Bazaar’ Draws Enthusiastic Response
Pics by Collin Dsouza - Daijiworld Media Network
Report : Inez D’Cunha
Abu Dhabi, Dec 11: Christmas is a time for sharing and giving and friendship. Drawing from these traditional values of Christmas, the annual Christmas Bazaar at St. Joseph’s Church, Abu Dhabi has grown from strength to strength and gets bigger with each passing year. 10th December 2010 was a day of resounding joy as the parishioners of St. Joseph’s Church, Abu Dhabi with its myriad nationalities, came together as one big united family to support a good cause. Through the funds raised at this event, the parish is able to reach out to underprivileged across the globe, thus bringing to life the true essence of Christmas.
The Christmas Bazaar 2010 was declared open by Bishop Paul Hinder of the Vicariate of Arabia amidst great jubilation, in the presence of priests and other guests. With the guidance and support renderedby the parish priest by Rev.Fr. Savarimuthu, and the efforts of the organizing committee headed by the dynamic Dolphy Vas, the day was bound to be one of phenomenal success. They interacted with the people to make sure all were having a good time.
The children were elated to see the first Santa Claus of this season. His invigorating presence and exhilarating voice filled the air with Christmas cheer and sparked off the Christmas celebrations. Santa wished the people Merry Christmas in 10 different languages! It was a splendid day and weather was at its best. The masters of ceremony, Pervez Dsouza and Eugine charged the crowd with energy and enthusiasm with their lively announcements. The DJ and his team rocked the gathering and the great sound system complemented to that success.
The innovative version of the Christmas Tree at the entrance stood tall welcoming all. The ushers were manning the entrance with their well organised approach. The cash coupon booths were the most busiest as people were thronging to buy the bazaar cash coupons. There were 102 stalls at the bazaar. This speaks for the magnitude of activity here. 55 of these were food stalls. There was traditional food from Sri Lanka, Africa, Italy, Latin America, Poland, Pakistan, Philippines, Germany and India comprising of Goan, Keralite, Mangalorean, East Indian and other cuisines. There was Arabic food too. The Magic Hotdog was a big attraction and people had to queue up to get hold of one. It was a joy to see people relishng home cooked food from across the continents. The stalls were aesthetically decorated. The Italian stall had yet another version of the Christmas Tree, made of football shaped balloons!
The games stalls were buzzing with activities with people trying to break castles and pyramids, trying their luck with lucky draws, ringing gifts, darting balloons, aiming the basket and so on. One could see flying zebras and tigers and dolphins and flying ducks too. These were the most sort after balloon shapes that kids were waving in the air. There were stalls selling imitation jewelry, tattoos and Christmas merchandise. There were medical products and one could even get ones blood pressure checked. In the far corner was a bouncing castle that never stopped.
The stage programmes kept the Christmas spirit flowing throughout the day. There was Karaoke where anyone could sing like a star!. There were movie shows for kids and a variety entertainment programme in the church hall.
The activities at the bazaar went on until late evening. It was a lively atmosphere throughout. The finale, being the grand draw of prizes. Everyone waited eagerly to see if they could drive the big prize home. Dolpy Vas thanked all for the success of this event and said it was definitely a community effort.
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