Our 24th annual northeast area Thanksgiving Gathering was held on Saturday, November 28, 2009 at Ramada Inn, in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Despite bitter cold and windy weather, we had a good turnout of 70 plus people including children. The event was entirely sponsored by thirteen families. A wholehearted thought goes a long way.

The evening started with the delicious appetizers as people started arriving. Everyone enjoyed tasty appetizers – bhel, batata vada, papadi ganthia and desi chai, while catching up with friends and relatives. Children played several games afterward and prizes were given to everyone. They really enjoyed the games and they were happy to be here. Our sincere thanks to Bina Beed for planning and conducting games for children.

Prior to dinner, election was carried out / held for next two year term and executive committee was elected. Results will be posted on website in a separate report. Then, mouthwatering Gujarati and Punjabi style dinner was served. People sat and chat in groups while eating dinner. Paan flavored ice-cream and paan were served after the dinner. We would like to thank Jayanti and Vijya Galaiya, and Kanchan Shah for selecting and making arrangement for the delicious food. During dinner, Keshav Shah reminded everyone about our plan for publishing the updated Oshwal Directory in 2010.

It was a great get together and everyone enjoyed it. Our special thanks to the families who contributed to cover the cost of the event. The event was sponsored, however we collected nominal token for raising money for our association as we have a minimal balance. At the end we had surplus of $500 for our association. We also would like to thank committee members and area representatives for helping out.

See below for some pictures from the event.