Please note the normal State Park fee of $10 per vehicle applies to the Lake Sammamish State Park but this is covered with a discover pass: https://discoverpass.wa.gov.
The Guyana Picnic has traditionally been a high point of the Guyanese community in WA State where we meet, socialize, indulge in good Guyanese food and snacks, and participate in competitive sports. We urge all Guyanese to come out and bring along your friends to enjoy all the activities.
We plan to have food in the two main categories: “GENERAL” and “VEGETARIAN”. However, because of the 3 year Covid hiatus and time constraints, we have had to scale back our usual food preparations. So,this year we will follow a more traditional picnic where you are encouraged to make use of the barbecue grills available in the park.
But as is customary, we also invite you to prepare a suitable Guyanese dish of your choosing and/or to provide snacks/drinks to share with others. Shared food items will be served at the food booth.
Consider preparing enough for 5-10 or more persons.
And as is also customary, we will have a donation box at the picnic to help defray the Park, music equipment, etc. rental and incidental costs.
Some suggested Foods and Snacks:
Vegetarian:
Plain rice,
Dhal,
Roti,
Dhall Puri,
Fried Plantains,
Veggie Chowmein,
Veggie Fried Rice,
Channa
Veggie Curry
Non-Vegatarian:
Chowmein,
Fried rice,
Curry
PepperPot
Metemgee
BBQ
Bake and Saltfish.
Snacks:
Plantain Chips,
Mettai
Baked goods
All traditional Guyanese foods are welcome.
Please respond to this email letting us know what you are bringing so that we can coordinate the menu. Also, please bring an ingredient list with any food items you bring to share.
The Lord saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be so He put His arms around you and whispered “come with me” With tearful eyes we watched you suffer and saw you fade away although we loved you dearly we could not make you stay.
August 2, 2023, Major Roland Gaston DaSilva C.C.V., 86, of Georgetown,Guyana, passed away peacefully at home with his beloved wife of 46 years,Jennifer DaSilva (Rodrigues) in their home in Margate, FL.
Roland was diagnosed with ALS in November of 2022 and fought bravely against the odds for 9 months. His wife, Jenny never left his side and cared for him in their home. She was the truest example of an angel here on earth.
He is survived by his wife – Jenny, his two brothers – Peter and David, his three daughters – Lisa Blick, Paula Forsyth, Tina Herald and his son – Roland DaSilva Jr., as well as his grandchildren – Sasha, Colby, Skylar, Dakotah and Zoey and his 5 great-grandchildren.
Weeks before his passing, Roland’s most recent accomplishment – which he was blessed to be here to receive the news in person – was an official letter from the President of Guyana commissioning a commemorative stamp as a tribute to his exceptional valor in a mission in defense of their Country’s territory. His daughter, Tina designed the artwork for the stamps.
Roland DaSilva was born on November 27, 1936 the firstborn of four sons to Gaston DaSilva who was a first-generation Guyanese of Portuguese descent, and Angelina Mekdeci who was born in New York, USA, of Lebanese parents, who moved to British Guiana via New York and Cayenne, French Guiana.
Roland’s father Gaston managed the Polar Bear rum shop at the corner of Regent and Light Street, inherited from his parents. Roland was the eldest of four sons that included Michael (deceased), David a physiotherapist in Vancouver, Canada and Peter in Naples, Florida who is a captain for USAir.
Roland attended St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School on the corner of Brickdam and Camp Streets, opposite the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception (Brickdam Cathedral), and then on to Central High School on Smythe Street. Roland excelled at cycle racing and became the Georgetown High School Champion, eventually moving on to motor racing.
First Flight
Roland showed keen interest in flying at an early age often spending much of his time reading about airplanes and building models that he flew at the sea wall. When Roland was 18 his dad decided to buy a four-seater Auster Mk 5 British Built aircraft; registration VP-GAM, from Booker Sugar Estate and they engaged the services of John Rix as the instructor; Roland’s first flight was on December 30, 1954. After seven hours Roland performed his first solo flight accompanied by British Guiana Airways Captain Julian Pieniazek (Czechoslovakian). His final check ride was with Alec Phillips the then Director of Civil Aviation (DCA) and he was issued his pilot’s license; PPL #14, on March 21, 1955.
Roland’s father then sent him to Britain’s Air University in Hamble, Southampton where he obtained his commercial and instrument rating license; CPL #26, issued on 7/15/1957.
Cacique Crown of Valor award For his faultless planning and execution of Operation Climax, Roland was informed by letter from President Arthur Chung dated May 22, 1970 about his investiture with the Cacique’s Crown of Valor to be awarded on May 26, 1970, the fourth anniversary of Guyana’s independence.
The inaugural investiture of Captain Roland DaSilva by Guyana’s first President Mr. Arthur Chung, with the Cacique’s Crown of Valor was held on February 23, 1971, the first anniversary of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The inaugural investiture was held at Guyana House Georgetown, Guyana.
Roland DaSilva became the first and only Guyanese to have received Guyana’s highest award the “Cacique’s Crown of Valour” for bravery of the highest order in defense of Guyana in circumstances of great danger involving serious risk of life. The award was bestowed upon Captain Roland DaSilva Guyana Airways Corporation Operations Manager and Chief Pilot for the military mission flown during the Rupununi uprising in January 1969 and the retaking of Guyanese territory from Suriname at Camp Jaguar, New River Triangle in August 19, 1969.
The Golden Arrow of Courage was awarded to Captain Michael Eugene Chan-A- Sue, Captain Philip Desmond Jardim and Corporal Looknaut Singh of the Aurora Police Station for bravery of a high order in defence of Guyana.
Last Flight
Roland’s last flight flying the Mallard for Chalks was December 1999 to a surprise tumultuous water canon salute. On his final flight into Fort Lauderdale International Roland noticed that the fire trucks were sitting at the end of the runway and wondered if there was an accident or if they were waiting for an expected emergency. As he approached the taxiway the 2 fire trucks were positioned on either side of the taxi way and water cannons opened up; streams of water soared into the sky, bringing to close an illustrious career of a true Guyanese and international hero.
Roland’s flying career was from 1953-2006, a total of 49 years with 36,151 flying hours. Roland had a number of firsts: · First Guyanese to join British Guiana Airways as a pilot · First Guyanese to hold a commercial license · First Guyanese to qualify as a captain on a DC3 · First Guyanese along with Tony Man-Son-Hing on the Twin Otter · First and only Guyanese to be awarded The Cacique Crown of Valour
Roland was qualified captain of all Guyana Airways aircrafts and 2 Guyana Defense Force aircrafts during his tenure: Grumman Goose, DC3, DHC4 Caribou, DHC6 Twin Otter, HS-748, Beechcraft Super King Air, Cessna 310, All Guyana Defense Force aircraft, including BN Islanders and the Helio Courier Roland credits his near perfect record to “I always plan to ensure I have a way out of any situation.”
To quote Roland, “Fear only exists when you have an alternative.”
Roland is considered a pioneer aviator. His exploits in the field of aviation arewell-known, respected and legendary. His name is forever etched in the history of Guyana’s defense of its territorial integrity. His legacy will live on.
With great sadness, we announce the death of our beloved mother, grandmother, family member, and friend. Kim Ann Coddett passed away on Friday, December 30, 2022, after a valiant two-year battle with cancer.
We thank you all for your prayers, kind words, phone calls, love gifts, and visits during Kim’s illness. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Funeral details will be forthcoming.
Announcing the Annual General Meeting of the Guyanese Canadian Cultural Association of BC.
It will be held on: Sunday, October 9th , 2022 starting at 2pm Location: via ZOOM
DUE TO COVID-19, there will be no in-person meetings at this time.
This meeting will be held online via Zoom. The Zoom meeting will be accessible on computer, mobile devices with online connection (tablets), or by dial-in (telephone or cell). We encourage all recipients of this message to participate and support your local association.
Membership dues are $20 per year. Click HERE to complete membership and pay securely. Invitations and instructions for joining the AGM will be sent to members closer to the event.
Please note that at this AGM we will be accepting nominations for all Board Positions. The board positions will come into effect at the AGM and remain for the duration of 2022 and all of 2023; next AGM expected late 2023 or early 2024.
Description: Cherie Jones and Myriam Chancy have both written powerful, dynamic, disturbing novels about upheaval and injustice in the Caribbean. Jones, a Barbadian writer, took the world by storm this year with the publication of her debut novel How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House: an ambitious, layered novel in which her young Barbadian protagonist fights for her life. Chancy, who was born in Port-au-Prince and raised in Haiti and in Canada, teaches at Scripps College in California. Her new novel, What Storm, What Thunder masterfully charts the inner lives of ten characters whose lives are affected by an earthquake that rocks Haiti and its people to the core. Join them in conversation with Guest Curator Lawrence Hill as they discuss modern Caribbean literature.
Description: Both authors of provocative, lively, spirited, and stereotype-defying memoirs, Ben Philippe and Ian Williams are sure to launch into a riveting conversation. Philippe is a New York-based writer and screenwriter with two young adult novels to his credit. His new adult nonfiction book is the memoir in essays, Sure I’ll Be Your Black Friend: Notes From the Other Side of the Fist Bump. Philippe’s new book begins with the line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a good white person of liberal leanings must be in want of a Black friend…” Williams is an award-winning poet, a Giller-prize winning novelist (Reproduction), and associate professor at the University of Toronto. His new set of essays Disorientation: On Being Black in the World begins with the line, “My resolution this year is to learn how to swim,” and captures the impact of social encounters that focus suddenly, unexpectedly, harshly, or hilariously on matters of racial identity.
Description: No matter the depth of feeling for our beloved, there is always a moment (or a few) when we’d like to change something about them. Right? Scotiabank Giller Prize and Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize winner, André Alexis, probes love, romance, and the past in his latest novel, Ring, in which a woman in love is gifted a ring that will allow her to change three things about her partner. Following on the heels of Pastoral, Fifteen Dogs, The Hidden Keys, and Days by Moonlight, it completes Alexis’ Quincunx: five genre-bending, stunning novels. We welcome this extraordinary literary mind to discuss his five works, and the philosophy imbued in his latest, with Globe and Mail editor, Mark Medley.
October 23 2021, 10:30AM Venue: Revue Stage, Granville Island
Description: Award-winning Vancouver poet Chantal Gibson joins the Vancouver Writers Fest stage once more to discuss, in an interview with Lawrence Hill, her latest new poetry collection with/holding: a collection of genre-blurring poems that examines the representation and reproduction of Blackness across communication media and popular culture. Gibson lives a fascinating life as an award-winning teacher at Simon Fraser University, a successful visual artist whose art has been exhibited at museums and galleries across Canada and the United States, and as a poet who has landed with a splash on the Canadian literary scene. Her first collection, How She Read meditates on Blackness, womanhood, denial, and freedom. She explores these themes and more in this morning’s illuminating conversation.
We would like to mark the passing of Carmen London, dear wife of long-time GCCABC leader Bertie London. She was born in Den Amstel on the West Demerara coast; before coming to Vancouver to raise her children Barbara, Carole, Beverly, and Trevor. She will be missed.
It is with great sadness that the family of Doris Mary Joseph announce her passing.
Doris was born in Guyana, South America, on June 14, 1930. She passed away peacefully, on Sunday, November 24, 2019.
She is pre-deceased by her husband John and their three daughters, Julianna, Marcia Rose and Lucyanne. She is survived by her four grandchildren, Cecil Garraway, Georgetown Guyana, Paul, Rachael and Emma Jane Campbell, England, and several great grand children.
As well, she is survived by her sister, Elsie Rempel, brother, Joseph Edwards, brother Shirland, and sisters Pearly and Yvonne.
Doris is fondly remembered as a caring older sister in a large family of 15 siblings.
Her funeral will be held at St. Edmunds Parish, 545 Mahon St, North Vancouver, BC on Saturday, December 7th, 2019 at 1 pm; viewing is 12:15 – 12:45, before memorial service.
In lieu flowers, the family requests that any donations be sent to Diabetes Canada.
guyanabc.ca 