Vincentians gather at Brown’s Bay Family Picnic

by Oswald Vanloo

Saturday dawned with dark looming clouds as an omen of a rain soaked day for the annual Brown’s Bay Family Unity Picnic festive event.

Fortunately, the sun shone through with ideal temperature for a beautiful day for the gathering of Vincentians from all over{{more}} the world and their friends at Brown’s Bay, Ontario, Canada.

As expected, the early arrivals nested and got the best trees for shade and pitched their tents. The usual suspects from New York and others from the American eastern seaboard were there in force with their friends who have become a fixed feature of this massive event. 

The various disc jockeys blasting music throughout the day made for a very happy and festive occasion; the number of flags seen here showed that this is now a worldwide event. Addressing the crowd, consul general to Canada Fitz Huggins thanked all for their continued support to St Vincent and the Grenadines. Awards were presented to persons who have contributed to our culture, among them legendary musician, saxophonist Sylvester McIntosh, for his decades of music to SVG and the world.

The entertainment was then in full swing, with various soca artistes whipping up the crowd. Added features were games for the children, costumed clowns with balloons and carnival slides. As one visitor remarked, this just gets better every year!

At the end of the day, another great day was enjoyed by all and we look forward to renewing this lovely gathering of friends again.