Our Major Fundraiser—Ole Mas Competition
Our annual Ole Mas competition was held on Sunday July 22nd, 2012 at the Spice Basket. This competition is the only one of its kind on the island and it is being held by our club for over 20 years. The Lions Ole mas Competition started in the 90’s seeing participation from solely Lions members. However through the years we opened up participation to other theatres, social clubs and individuals. For the last four (4) years Digicel have come on board and part sponsored the activity.
Ole Mas is one of the traditional forms of carnival that started in the early days and has survived through dedicated individuals who thrive each year on presenting satire, wit, theatre and pun. Ole Mas represents popular entertainment because the simple drab presentations are humourous and readily invoke infectious laughter.
Planning for this major event takes alot thus the Club held meetings, Ole Mas camps (bringing in ideas and being creative with them), promotions using flyers and media (television & radio programmes involving the President, Ipp and members).
The competition was a resounding success, with approximately over 800 patrons, with approximated total revenue of XCD 24,000.00 (US $8,888.00) and a profit of $10,000.00 (USD 3,704.00). We were able to get the support of nine (9) sponsors, with our major sponsor being Digicel for the past four (4) years.
The show was officially opened by Lions dressed as Short Knees and a Wild Indian, being a major part of our culture, especially with this year being designated the year of the Short Knee. We also did a number of portrayals. This year saw the majority of outside participants that the show has seen for a very long time. We had a nubmer of individual performances as well as Bands. There were also guest appearances by popular calypsonians and the National Carnival Queen. The show climaxed with a Male Queen Show, with one of our Lions participating as well. All of the television stations on the island were present, as well as newspapers. Given the amount of participation, the show lasted for six (6) hours.
Ole Mas Prize Giving Ceremony
The club held its Annual Ole Mas Prize Giving and Award Ceremony on Saturday August 18, 2012 at the Lions Den Tanteen St. George’s at 6:30 p.m. In attendance were sponsors, winners, media personnel, guests, Lions and Leos. The ceremony was chaired by Vice President Lion Ernie James and commenced with a prayer followed by the presentation of prizes to winners and cheques to quest artistes and master of ceremony.
Mr. Prem Chandiramani of Shipwreck Store, one of the sponsors of ole mas assisted in the distribution of prizes. The evening proceedings climaxed with some entertainment by Mr. Victor a participant in ole mas with two songs. Mr. Munro a former Lion and long standing participant of Lions Ole Mas expressed words of encouragement in that we should continue presenting ole mas as it fosters the growth of our culture.
Lion Giselle presented the vote of thanks recognizing the invaluable contributions of its members and expressed profound gratitude to participants for their support and cooperation towards Ole Mas 2012. Special appreciation was also extended to the sponsors for their continued support as we endeavor to fulfill our motto WE SERVE.
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Annual Club Retreat & Workshop
The Club held its Annual Club Retreat & Workshop on Saturday July 7th, 2012 at the Grenada Red Cross Society. The retreat was one with a difference as it included business meeting, workshop and planning. The first order of the day was Business Meeting which began at 10:00am. Lion IPP/Zone 3C Chair, Lion Wendy La Barrie made persentations to members whose awards were not yet ready at our Installation Ceremony in June. She also gave a some brief remarks in her capacity as Zone Chair and wished our Club well. This was followed by lunch.
Immediately after lunch a retreat was conducted by Lion Maria Charles-Viechweg, a member of the Lions Club of St. Andrews with a presentation on Lionism and Commitment. During her presentation, members were placed into groups and asked to work on a team builiding exercise. The information was very well received by members. Following the presentation, the committee chairs reported on their action plans for the Lionistic year.
INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN UP
The members of the Lion’s Club of St. George embarked on a Coastal Cleanup Project on Saturday, September 22nd 2012 as part of the 27th annual International Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup which has become the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean health involving over nine (9) million volunteers in 152 countries.
Cognizant of the need for protection of the beaches and a commitment to conservation of marine life, eight (8) members turn out to clean the Mt. Pandy Beach, which is situated in the south of the Island. In about three hours, ten (10) garbage bags of Trash were collected which included items such as used Engine Oil/Lubricants bottles, clothing items, plastic bags, broken furniture, diapers, glass bottles, cigarette wrappings, condoms etc. Also, members were involved in racking the leaves and clearing the shoreline by cutting shrubs. The leaves were burnt in an isolated spot on the beach. The cleanup climaxed with some light refreshments
ANNUAL TEA & FASHION SHOW
The Club held its second Annual Tea & Fashion Show on Sunday 28th October at the Grenada Youth and Cultural Centre. There were a fair number of patrons who came out in support of this venture. We were successful in obtaining donations of food items from hotels and other caterers as well as Club members. Two boutiques participated in the modeling aspect and models consisted of Lions, Leos and friends took to the runway in elegance and style. A number of door prizes were won by patrons. The funds raised from this activity would be used to assist in sponsoring a student through the five years of secondary school.
