It was a night, but what a night it was!

The Josephian-Peterite Annual Dinner Dance was held last Saturday (October 5th) at the brand new Markham Convention Centre. The task of arranging the interior decor was left entirely in the hands of the creative mind of our Chair, Dance Committee/Social Secretary Anslem Perera. He came up with this backdrop curtain or screen of the two school colours – Blue, White & Gold and Blue & White. The backdrop was exceptional and the digital effect of the spots falling on the screen gave the decor to the hall an amazing look and feeling. With this backdrop, the JPAA Dance kicked off its Annual Dinner Dance for 2013. Popular local band ZEROX started the music sharp on time – 8:00 pm and within minutes the dance hall was half packed. Within an hour it was fully packed. The momentum picked up signalling another splendid dinner dance presented by JPAA Canada. Door prizes were drawn on time with gifts of overnight stays at Hilton Hotel, LCBO Vouchers and other gifts over $100 worth won by a few lucky patrons. A sumptuous buffet dinner prepared by veteran caterer Giri was enjoyed by all.

Then started the fireworks. Ray Pereira, Old Joe living in Richmond, Virginia, USA also came down for the dance and made a guest appearance by getting the crowd engaged with MATILDA – popularised by Harry Belafonte. He made a cameo appearance that was enjoyed by all. To cap it all, another visitor from the U.S. Winston Visser teamed up with the band to sing a few "baila" songs. These surprise performances added to the enjoyment as they were all done very tastefully. However, ZEROX and DJ-Shiwanka kept the floor crowded from start to end.

One of the highlights of the evening was the splendid recital of the two school anthems – sung with such passion never seen and heard in recent times. Larry Landers for the Peterites and Benito de Silva for the Josephians led the anthems for the two schools.

The dance went on till 2:00 am and the guests enjoyed with the saints as they went marching in! Vice Chair, Dance Committee Jerome Fernandez produced a super Souvenir that captured the year's social and sports events.

Popular monthly tabloid – The SriLankan Anchorman has captured the following photo gallery at the dance. Many thanks to its editor Dirk Tissera (Old Boy of St. Mary's College, Dehiwala).

Please download the link. https://www.facebook.com/TheSriLankanAnchorman

Josephians & Peterites in Canada will be getting together to celebrate the "Joe-Pete Dinner Dance 2013", presented by JPAA Canada – held at the new Markham Convention Centre located on the northeast corner of Markham Rd & Mc Nicoll Avenue. Tickets are priced at a modest $60 per person with the promise of a sumptuous dinner catered by Giri, the well known banquet caterer. Music is provided by ZEROX and DJ-SHIWANKA. Two guest spots are reserved for Old Joe Ray Pereira, from the U.S. and Old Peterite Larry Landersz from Munich, Germany. These two popular vocalists will be attending the dance and JPAA President Upali Obeyesekere has invited them to entertain the guests with two or three songs each with musical accompaniment of the ZEROX band. Many prizes and surprises are in store for the honoured guests.

Among Sri Lankan Schools, JPAA Canada prides itself to have been the first Alumni Association to have taken the initiative to plan, organize and execute a dinner dance in Canada. It was 1988, at a time when the Joe-Pete fraternity in Canada may not have exceeded 300. But with the Sri Lankan community rallying round the organizers we recorded a 350 guest list at the inaugural dinner dance which augurs well for the joint association. At the time getting a full house was no easy task but the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre was packed to capacity and all had a whale of a time.

The scene has not changed much since. The JPAA Dance still is regarded as a good dance and old boys of both schools living in Canada & USA rally round the flags and attend the annual event to renew old friendships and build new ones while remaining loyal to the schools that provided a good education in Sri Lanka.

We are pleased to announce details of the JPAA Canada Dinner Dance that will take place at the new Markham Convention Centre (NE Corner of Markham Rd & McNicoll) on Saturday, October 5, 2013, from 6:30 pm onwards. Plans include welcoming the alumni of St. Joseph's College & St. Peter's College in Canada & USA and Well Wishers who have regularly attended our grand event, year in year out. Please join us once again this year and partake in the festivities associated with the meeting of Old Joes & Old Joes, friends and family on this auspices day. Music will be provided by a Live Band – ZEROX + DJ Shiwanka. Lots of prizes and surprises are in store besides the sumptuous dinner by popular caterer providing banquet facilities to Markham Convention Centre – a brand new state-of-the-art facility conveniently located at Markham Rd & McNicoll Ave. Parking is FREE!

Date & Time:       Saturday, October 5, 2013 from 6:30 pm

Place:                Markham Convention Centre, 30 Ironside Crescent, Scarborough, ON.

                            NE Corner of Markham RD & McNicoll Ave)

Music:               Live Band ZEROX with DJ-SHIWANKA

Tickets:              $60 per person

Tickets & Table Reservations, please call the following:

Anslem Perera: 416-706-0545

Upali Obeyesekere: 416-445-5390

ADVERTISE IN THE SOUVENIR PUBLISHED IN CONNECTION WITH THE JPAA DANCE

RATES SHOWN IN ATTACHED DOCUMENT http://jpaacanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/JPAA-SOUVENIR-RATES.docx