New Goan association hosts first event in Manchester

MANCHESTER

The newly-formed Goan Association North West (GANW) hosted its first event with the celebrations of the ‘Festa de São João’ (São João feast) on June 11, which attracted over 100 people from across the North of England.

At the ‘Festa de São João’ in Manchester, every family put in their creative efforts to make their ‘Copels’ to win the coveted prize of ‘Best Copel’. 

Another tradition that was celebrated was felicitating a newly married couple with seasonal fruits and cashew feni in a basket known as ‘Wojje’. Weverley and Lawrence, who have been married for less than a year, took a delicious basket home. 

Support was received from the Goan entrepreneurial community. The food was catered by Liv’s Take Away and Manchester Goan Food. Several prizes were won including vouchers from Potyo, a coastal Indian cuisine restaurant, and A G Caravela, selling exquisite Portuguese wines and Spirits. 

‘Bardez’, the Indian street food and grill restaurant, sponsored DJ Jeff, who had the crowds dancing to both Konkani and English tunes.  

RESPONSE

Joy and Dr Ian Silveira, long-time residents of Newcastle under Lyme, were pleased with the event.

“We have lived in Newcastle under Lyme for 24 years and we were the only Goan family in this part of the country. We were starved of Goan friends, our vibrant culture and delicious food,” said Joy.

“So, when we heard of the Sao Joao celebrations being held in Manchester, we were thrilled. We enjoyed meeting many Goans from the North West, dancing to lively music and eating delicious food.”

“The organisers did a brilliant job getting everyone together and hosting the function. We hope there will be many more events like this for us to join in.”

Aurelio Fernandes, who has been living in Manchester for the last five years, said: “The event was wonderful, to meet so many Goans today was great. It is particularly difficult to organise something like this in our region as people live in far-off areas and are not concentrated in one area like in London or other regions in the South.”

“We need more events like this to celebrate our culture and I hope to be part of future events.”

ASSOCIATION

The Goan Association North West’s founding committee includes Strip Cardoso, Cefona Gracias, Thomas Alphonso, Louie Pereira, and Melanie Antao Fernandes.

GANW President Melanie Antao Fernandes said the region lacked a Goan association for a long time and the formation of the association in April has filled a void to bring the community together to celebrate its culture.

“The support and attendance at the first-ever event of GANW have been overwhelming. We are thankful to so many people for saying ‘yes’ to any help we asked for. It’s the start of many more events, we plan to keep the community connected and engaged,” said Melanie.

“Interestingly, two of our founding members, Louie and Thomas, are young adults, which is so encouraging. We want to engage with Millennials and Gen Z and keep them close to our Goan heritage and culture.”

“The success of ‘Festa de São João’ was evident from the outpouring of messages that we received. We know we are on the right track and will continue to serve the Goan community,” added Melanie.

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