THANK YOU!!!

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Sinhala & Tamil New Year Programme on 20 April 2002, to make it a truly enjoyable evening. The positive feedback we have received was due in part to all those who helped with the decorations, food, music, and dance items. We reiterate our gratitude. On our part, it was a pleasure to organise, and we look forward to your participation in future celebrations of this kind.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SLAG ON THE INTERNET!!!

AS OF 15 JUNE 2002

We are proud to unveil www.slageneva.org where you can already enjoy the photos of the New Year Party. An electronic version of this Newsletter will also be available there, as well as links to other interesting SL sites. Please feel free to browse through and send us your comments and feedback, taking note that it is our first effort. We hope to shortly add an electronic database of members, a message board, and other features.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SRI LANKAN FLAVOURS

Geneva, 27 May – 15 June 2002

The Chefs of the Jetwing Hotels in Sri Lanka will make you discover the different flavours of Sri Lankan cooking at restaurant “La Récolte” at the Forum Park Hotel (Former Hotel Penta). Come and savour authentic Sri Lankan dishes: Menu of the Day at CHF 31.- per person with a Sri Lankan speciality. Every evening, enjoy your meal in a pleasant atmosphere with the traditional Sri Lankan orchestra, Tamalia.!

Reservations : Restaurant “La Récolte” : 022/710 30 52

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SLAG FUND-RAISING ACTIVITY

FETE DE LA MUSIQUE – 21-23 JUNE 2002

SLAG will be participating in the 11th Fête de la Musique in Geneva. The SLAG booth will be located at the Parc des Bastions (the University grounds) and will be serving Sri Lankan fare from Friday 21 June evening until Sunday 23 evening.
This year we hope to create a fun, relaxed, and uniquely “Sri Lankan” atmosphere at our booth, by having decorations, music, and logistics permitting, an “arrack bar” and “the kade” on the side. Naturally to make all of this possible we will need your assistance, and thus strongly encourage you to get involved and volunteer with any aspect you like. We also urge SLAG members to invite their friends, family, and colleagues to visit our stand. As the Fête gives us an excellent opportunity to raise funds for charities in Sri Lanka, it is imperative that we have as large and wide participation as possible. Members who would like to help in the catering, serving of food and drink and other activities that we have planned, please contact Ruvan at 022 738-1846 or 078 8524360 or Chinta on 022 341 5358. The Committee is particularly looking for booth coordinators for specific periods during the festival.
More importantly, do remember that as with all our activities, the primary purpose here is for our community to meet and get to know each other. The SLAG booth will serve as a focal point for our members and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible…so stop by, eat some curry, drink some arrack and make a donation to worthy Sri Lankan charities!

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION – VISIT WWW.FETEDELAMUSIQUE.CH

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SWISS-SRI LANKA CRICKET TOUR 2002

After a successful and popular maiden cricket tour to Sri Lanka in December 2000, the Sri Lankan Geneva Cricket Club undertook another tour from 20 April to 3 May 2002. Players from Geneva and Zurich formed the nucleus of the tour party. With 9 games in the card, the tour took a “professional” flavour with very few days of leisure time for the cricketers. Games were played in Colombo (2), Moratuwa, Matara, Galle (2), Kurunegala and Kandy (2). The first game – against a NCC XI – was an easy victory. Unfortunately, due to the high standards of local cricket in Sri Lanka, it became a Herculean task to repeat this success against teams from Moratuwa, Matara and Galle. However, at Asgiriya, the Swiss team won their second game against a Kandy XI.

The final match of the tour was for the DINA cup, organised and sponsored by S.I.M Akram, patron of DINA enterprises and a SLAG member living in Geneva. This game was against the Customs Sports Club and was played at the Khettarama international stadium. With victory in sight for the Swiss Sri Lankan XI, the match had to be called off due to heavy rain. Dugal Jansz of Geneva Sri Lankans CC and Sanjeevan Theaver from Zurich United CC shared captaincy duties during the tour.

All matches were played at international venues in the cities mentioned above. The tour attracted extensive media coverage, including local TV and radio stations.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

REPORT: GYPSIES CONCERT

Zurich, 13 April 2002

The leading group in the Sri Lankan pop music scene – “The Gypsies”, led by the dynamic Sunil Perera, did a hectic forty-one-day tour in Europe. Sri Lankans domiciled in Switzerland, Canada, Italy and London invited Sunil and his band for several concerts in these countries.

In Switzerland, it was Shirani Leemann, President of the Swiss-Sri Lanka Association, and a great fan of the “the Gypsies” who helped in organising the Zurich show where the group entertained nearly three thousand Sri Lankan and Swiss music lovers.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

FUTURE EVENTS

· Fête de la Musique – 21 to 23 June 2002
·Annual Picnic/Seven-a-side Cricket Tournament – 10 August 2002
· Hike (Zurich) – 25 August 2002 (organized by the Swiss Sri Lanka Association)
· Sri Lanka Dance Theater – 15 September 2002 (to be confirmed)
· Year End Party – 7 December 2002 (Zurich)
· Year End Party – 14 December 2002
· Charity Dinner & Dance – May 2003 (tentative)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………