Two years of restrictions on account of the Covid pandemic had deprived thousands of Goans in London from participating in public events to celebrate Goan culture and identity. LUI GODINHO reports that this opportunity finally came their way, not once but twice within a gap of 24 hours in Hounslow, London, on August 20 and 21, when two major events were organised to showcase Goan music, dance and cuisine, much to the delight of the Goan community
Goa’s nightingale Lorna enthralling thousands of people during the Goan Cultural Festival (Goa Day London) in Hounslow, London on August 21.
GOAN CULTURAL FEST
An estimated 10,000 Goans from various parts of London and beyond converged for an unprecedented outdoor Goan bonanza at Cranford Community College ground, Hounslow, London, to participate in the Goan Cultural Fest (Goa Day London) on August 21 from noon till late evening.
Calvin Barretto along with his three partners, Somesh, Nitin, and Andy Collins organised the show under a newly formed company ‘Ultrasonic Impact Events’, drawing appreciation from the crowds and event officials and authorities at the event.
Supporting partners included Fly Pop Airlines, Calsan Builder, Eclipse Sound and Impact Gyms provided support for arguably the biggest and largest Goan outdoor festival in the UK till date. There were about 16 stalls serving traditional Goan food and other Goan delicacies.
Goa’s nightingale Lorna was the main attraction and her singing drew a huge Goan crowd who were eager to listen to their favourite Konkani songs, even joining in at times to sing the timeless classics of legendary Goan musician Chris Perry.
Other Konkani performers included Comedy King Agostinho, Comedy Queen Janet, Tommy Afonso, Bunty Vaz, Salu de Loutolim, Nicky Carvalho, Bab Andrew, Luis Bachna, Andrea D’Souza.
The bands 'Rainbows End’ and ‘Band Royals’ along with special guest artiste Oliver Sean also enthralled the crowds, while other performers included DJ Flacid, and DJ Jonathan. London-based Goan music director Framton De Sa provided additional music.
Profits raised from a raffle will be donated to the Goa-based organisation which runs the ‘Food Bank’.
There were life-members from Goan Association UK (GOA UK) present at the Goa Day show, as this was an event that GOA UK had been organising for many years. Most of those who did attend admitted that the new group had organised the event beyond expectation.
According to sources, the success of the Goan Cultural Festival was attributed to the new management delegating various responsibilities to the Goan youth, who took their duty very seriously and gave their best.
“This well-planned function used social media to its maximum in galvanising Goans not only from London, but also from elsewhere like Swindon and other towns, who made efforts to attend the event,” acknowledged a Goan who attended the show.
The local MP and councillors also attended the event, which was organised with no untoward incident, with even the local police chief praising the organising committee and the Goan community.
AMIGOS NITE
The event management company Amigos Nite organised World Goa Day at the London Bar Stock Exchange, Hounslow Market Place, London, on August 20. The event from 5 pm till 11 pm had a full house in attendance, with a variety of Goan artistes, music, dances and traditional cuisine.
According to Simon Rodrigues, CEO of Amigos Nite, the event started with a solo violin performance by Joanro Gomes, grandnephew of late Tony Gomes, considered to be Bollywood’s first guitarist. There was a variety of Goan artistes like Risma Leitao, Noywen Fernandes (one-man band) and DJ Velfern Fernandes. There were also two Kunbi dance performances by Alida Fernandes, Jessica Da Silva, Milena Dias and Mario Rodrigues on Ghumot.
Goa’s Comedy King Agostinho and Comedy Queen Janet formed two comedy acts, while Bladwin Da Silva and Brandon Rato also performed a comedy act.
London-based Konkani singers and tiatrists Tommy Afonso (Jr Nelson), Bab Andrew D'Souza, Joao De Zuari, Princewell, Fernandes, Andrea D'Souza, Aliston Bareto, Nerissa Bareto, Sebastian Fernandes, Eleanora Fernandes and Swinton Fernandes sang Konkani songs. All the Konkani artists were backed by London-based Goan music director, Framton De Sa.
On the occasion, the Amigos Nite organisers felicitated Rene Barreto (Founder of World Goa Day), Fr Lucas Rodrigues (Chaplain to the Goan Community, Swindon and Parish Priest of St Peter's Catholic Church & Sacred Heart Church), Clayton Antonio Barreto (Senior Officer, Indian High Commission, who is helping bridge the gap between Indian High Commission and the Goan Diaspora and the Goan Associations in UK) and Flavio Gracias (Chair of the Trustees of the Goan Welfare Society UK).
The event was powered by ‘Maka Tik Naka’ and the show was compered by Simon Varella, while food at the event was catered from the kitchen of ‘Maka Tik Naka’.
During the event, an appeal was made to help Melissa Nazareth, Goan based in Singapore who is diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, who is in need of a lifesaving stem donor. Her video appeal was played during the event and appeal leaflets were distributed to the audience.
