The inaugural event of PCAs newly formed Youth Committee turned out to be highly successful. 85 people joined us on a damp Vancouver evening to take part in our first ever Youth Boat Cruise. Dinner was buffet style and the atmosphere was casual as no formal events had been planned for this event. People were free to roam the 3 levels of the boat and take part in some friendly games of Poker (no money involved). The karaoke machine was fired up during our last hour and a few brave souls belted out some English and Punjabi hits. The view from the boat was spectacular as the rain stopped just as our boat was setting sail… a rainbow punctuated the beauty of the city. A good first step for our Youth Committee and hopefully a sign of things to come.
A packed house at Grand Taj Banquet Hall came to celebrate Pakistan’s 58th Independence Day with Pakistan-Canada Association and our special guest Junooni Salman Ahmad. People had to be turned away at the door as the demand exceeded our expectations. Salman took the stage at 8:00 pm and enthralled the crowd with his combination of story telling and performance. A 40 minute presentation by Salman briefly broken up by Maghrib Namaaz was the highlight of the night. Salman spent the remainder of the show signing autographs and taking pictures with excited fans.
Our other highlight of the evening was the acknowledgement of the accomplishments of our younger members of the community. Congratulations goes out to Ms Siddiqui, Mr. Ali Syed and Ms. Sana Gehlen for being awarded our 2005 PCA Scholarships. The awards were handed out by Salman and a picture was taken with each award recipient. Congratulations to our Speech Contest and Knowledge Exam participants and winners. The combination of rock star and youth really made this an event to remember. Thank you to everyone for coming out and making the event a huge success.
