All’s Well that End’s Well! Successful 2-Day Bondel Fiesta brings ‘Good Revenue’ for a ‘Good Cause’
Mangaluru : “All’s Well that Ends Well!”-That’s right. Quoting Shakespeare’s words, “But with the word the time will bring on summer, When briers shall have leaves as well as thorns, All’s Well that ends well; still the fine’s the crown; Whatever the course, the end is the renown “- the organizing committee members of St Lawrence Church, Bondel, Mangaluru have d done a marvelous job by organizing this 2-day “Bondel Fiesta 2020′, which was a sheer success, and the curtain came down to say “Adios” to the Mega Fun and frolic fest after a glittering valedictory function.
Viva Bondel Fiesta-that’s right! Yes, a sea of revelers turned up for the Second Day of the two-day BONDEL FIESTA 2020′ on Saturday, 26 January 2020 from 8am to 10 pm, where all these party lovers thronged the St Lawrence Church and Shrine campus-Bondel, with the motto “Come Celebrate Your Life”- at the Mega Fun & Frolic Fiesta named “BONDEL FIESTA 2020′ organized by St Lawrence Church and Shrine, Bondel, Mangaluru. This was the second Fiesta in a row, which turned out to be successful one, with good response by people from all religion across the city and outside taking part in the fiesta, much more better than the last year. They all came to enjoy the entertainment, food and take part in the various games and contests.
Those who missed the Bondel Fiesta on Saturday, came in large numbers on Sunday, and enjoyed the lazy Sunday at the Fiesta, to make it a fun end to a long weekend. Both veg and Non-veg delicacies will be served to tickle the taste buds of the connoisseurs. Entertainment and fun games was held every minute to keep up the spirits of the participants. Lucky draw, housie housie both traditional and creative, Team games, live singing, Musical evening, etc. made Bondel Fiesta a place to be. There were around 40 stalls equally dedicated to games and food- for food you could savour on Pork Bafat/sorpothel, chilly, pork salad, chicken Biriyani, kakabs, shawarma, bhel puri, noodles, grill chicken etc; and there were bunch of games where revelers won exciting prizes. There was also a face painting counter so as to provide a festive and colourful look to the gathering.
Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese launched the CD ‘Mogachi Lara’ composed by Vincent Fernandes Cascia, prior to his live performance. A event named , “Talented Siblings” was also organized on Sunday, where quite a few people took part. And, what party or fiesta would be complete without lots of great music and food? Bondel Fiesta’s got that covered with plenty of live music and Dj Acvin who belted out a few Bollywood, techno and hip-hop music to keep the crowd groovin’ and movin’, and along with delicious culinary treats. It takes a whole lot of people to put on such an enormous event. Run almost entirely by volunteers/parishioners , Fiesta is sometimes called the “Party With a Purpose” because hundreds of volunteers had strived hard to make this event a success
Along with the Bishop, Fr Onil D’Souza, director, St Antony Ashram, Fr Herold Mascarenhas, J R Lobo, former MLA, as well as Roy Castelino, former president, Konkani Sahitya Academy, graced the valedictory ceremony as chief guests. On this occasion, the Bishop blessed and inaugurated the newly built Grotto and statue of the Crucifix installed in the church ground. Fr Cyril Lobo, assistant parish priest, Fr Clifford Pinto, principal, St Lawrence English Medium School, Reginald and Sujay D’Silva, were present among others.
Thanking the guests and gathering, Fr Andrew Leo D’Souza, parish priest, said, “The large crowd which gathered here and long line of stalls indicate that the second edition of Bondel Fiesta also has been highly successful. It is a unique way to raise funds for carrying out development works of the shrine and at the same time, it is a special occasion to bring all people under one umbrella. There is nothing to regret visiting Bondel Fiesta. It gives fun to everyone in addition to entertainment, shopping experience and finally makes every visitor a part of development works of the shrine. I thank the Bishop and all guests for their presence. I thank coordinators, committee members and parishioners who put in their sincere efforts for the success of this event. I thank all those who became a part of this event. They made this event a memorable one.”
On the occasion, Bondel parish honoured Five Editors who had steered the parish monthly magazine, Bondelchem Bonder, which has entered its silver jubilee year. Mainly in Konkani, two years ago it has added a 4-page English Section as a token of recognition of non-Konkani parishioners. The five editors, in chronological order, were Richard (Richie) Pereira, Stany Alvares, Joseph Francis D’Souza (Zuse Master/Mestri),longest editor with a tenure of 15 years, Lancy D’Cunha and the current Editor Wilfred (Wilfie) Alvares. Fr Andrew Leo D’Souza, Parish Priest lauded and thanked the Editors of Bondelchem Bonder which has emerged as the main bonding link among the 1,100 parish families.
To mark the occasion, Fr Andrew released a specially designed high-end cloth bag meant for storing 36 issues before binding into annual volumes and making place for new issues. The idea of holding bags was conceived and sponsored by John Monteiro, who handles the English section of the magazine, and got it designed and sourced by Titus Noronha. John Monteiro donated 1200 bags – also to take care of potential new families migrating to Bondel parish – in memory of his wife, Lynette, who passed away in August 2017 and whose platinum jubilee would have been on January 24, 2020. After releasing the first bag and presenting it to the first editor, Fr. Andrew D’souza invited John Monteiro, his son Mohan, Mohan’s wife Niesha and their daughter Maya to present the holding bags, garland the editors and drape shawls to the rest of the editors.
The entire revenue generated will be used for the development of Bondel church upcoming developmental projects- so come and help for for a good cause. No doubt, the revelers came with the Bondel Fiesta 2020 motto “Come Celebrate Your Life!”- and did celebrate their life during the fun-filled two-day extravaganza of happiness, fun and frolic. Adios Viva Bondel Fiesta 2020, until the next Bondel Fiesta !
