The FWA-UK celebrated Philippine independence day by holding its highly anticipated dinner-dance in their usual tasteful style at the prestigious Royal Garden Hotel on Saturday, the 11th of June 2016.
The usual long queue at reception didn’t happen this time as those who still needed to pay were few and a new innovation was employed; no time was spent checking the long list of guests, instead, everything was confirmed at the click of a button.
Reception was ably handled by receptionists Ira Lehmann, Hannah Jones, Bennette Baguisa, Elvie Phillips, Amor Bayudan and the only male personnel Alistair Thomson, son of our own Jeannette Thomson, competently headed by Christine Geocaniga.
The programme began with the national anthems of the Philippines and the United Kingdom led by special entertainer for the night Gia Macuja Atchison. Jeannette, the Master of Ceremonies, warmly welcomed all the guests and led a short prayer. This was followed by a speech from the chairperson Nenita Garrad who then introduced the guest of honour, new ambassador to the UK Ambassador Evan Garcia who threatened to read from a 38-page speech.
Dinner was accompanied by a presentation of Philippine dances by Lahing Kayumanggi. The participation of children dancing the Itik-Itik proved a hit with the guests. After that visual delight, the audience was entertained by the dulcet tones of Gia Macuja Atchison with the special participation of her daughter Abby who wowed the guests.
The auction followed which raised a respectable amount for our worthy projects. Hosted by Ali ali and Vanessa Horca, the duo enticed the guests to bid for the exciting holiday packages.
A little surprise intermission was the selection of the best Filipiniana costume won by Linda Celestial with runners-up Consul Myla Macahilig, Marina Castillo and Barbara Solon.
Dancing, which is always the highlight of the night, commenced to the sound of the Riversion band and musical mixes of DJ Gerald Lao.
Towards the end of the evening, raffle prizes generously donated by FWA members and friends of FWA, were drawn by Nenita Garrad.
Months of preparation, several meetings, late night evenings, phone calls, and countless emails finally paid off as the evening drew to close with the smiling faces of happy guests.