Ozlanka reporting

The annual ball has always been the main event in the Sydney Sri Lankan Community calendar, this was no different with 212 attendees in the hall.

The organising committee had gone to great lengths to plan and execute this event without a hitch. There were two Masters of Ceremony, one was non other than Aubrey Joachim who in his calm manner moved the dance from stage to stage. To his left was the charming Miss Gayathri Silva whose obvious talents as a budding MC were clear to see. Congrats to both of them.

In attendance were several VIP guests. The guest of honour was The Hon. Minister for Citizenship and Communities and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Victor Dominello MP. Special guests were the MP of Strathfield, the Hon. Geoff Lee and the MP for Parramatta the Hon. Charles Casuscelli.

The Consul General of Sri Lanka, Mr. Dayasiri Fernando and Mrs. Minoli Fernando attended and were seen talking to as many members of the community as possible.

Guinn Ragel and the Night Shift were on stage and they started with music from USA, moved to the UK, played tangos from Spain, performed calypsos from Jamaica, then to Sri Lanka for the Baila.

The music was great and the floor was packed. Even the VIP guests joined in the dancing and surprisingly they fitted in well with the baila; dancing away with our ladies showing them the steps.

For some years now, the SLA has opted to hold their gala event at the Sofitel - Wentworth Hotel in the CBD. The management and staff have catered for this function many times over and are now past masters in the art of ensuring Sri Lankans have a good meal. This year too the menu was superb. The entree was Japanese buckwheat noodles with grilled shrimps and the main was a choice of roast rack of lamb or Queensland barramundi. This is was followed by an ample dessert and tea or coffee. The whole meal was a ritual and was served in a leisurely manner with nice pauses in between the courses.

The ABBA girls put on a floor show that was not just about singing, and this they did very well, but there was time for humour too with former SLA president Roshan being recruited to sit on a chair, replete with wig and gown. The young lasses proceeded to sit on his lap, kiss his cheeks and tease him. Roshan tried hard not to show that he was having a super time. But why not!! It was good fun as the photos will show.

The auction was conducted by Aubrey and he managed to extract high bids from anyone and everyone. The pearl necklace was hard fought between two parties while the Sri Lankan and Australian cricket memorabilia went to die hard fans of two of the world's best teams.

A great event and praises all round to the organising committee.

We bring you two albums from this event. Click below to enjoy them.

Album of photos by Ozlanka

Album of photos by Niranjan de Alwis