Thousands attend annual Family Unity Picnic in Canada

by Oswald Vanloo Fri, Jul 22, 2014

The annual Family Unity Picnic was held last Saturday at its usual venue in Brown’s Bay, Ontario.

The number of supporters of this happy and fun filled event just grows by leaps and bounds. This writer was delighted to be acquainted with new faces and reunited with old friends from St Vincent.{{more}} One such person was a classmate from St Vincent, only to discover he came from Houston, Texas to be a Vincy once again, after hearing of this fabulous event.

Amidst the activity and Carnival style atmosphere, with the number of sound systems pounding out their rhythmic music, the organisers were busy with the day’s planned entertainment put on by singers, dancers and calypsonians.

The feature address was given by new St Vincent and the Grenadines consul general to Canada Fitz Huggins who warmly welcomed all Vincentians, our friends from the Caribbean diaspora and all the other nationalities present.

Highlighted was a raffle with the proceeds going towards securing a home for a Vincentian who lost their home during the Christmas disaster of 2013. Additional attractive prizes were added to this worthwhile cause. The tickets were sold briskly among the thousands in the crowd. The organisers and Ontario Parks Commission continue to work in keeping this event a safe place for all to meet free of any adverse drama. This fact was duly noted by the speaker from the COSAGO contingent from New York. They now have their own picnic in New York, started three years ago. It is modelled after the Canadian picnic. We can all pat ourselves on the back and look forward to next year.