ICM's Latest Activity/Event Reports

November 14, 2009- International Christmas Bazaar

THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR SUCH A SUCCESS!!

The International Club of Maputo would like to thank you all for participating in our International

Christmas Bazaar, which took place last Saturday November 14th at the Italian Residence.
Despite the early morning clouds, and some initial misgivings about rain, in the end the sun shone, we had over 400 people in attendance, we raised a lot of money for charity, and – most importantly! – we all enjoyed a wonderful day with friends and family, shopping around the world ‘in one garden’.

By the time the event opened to the public, at 10 am, we had 18 countries* represented in national tables plus a ‘Rest of the World’ table featuring exquisite goods from Egypt (kindly donated by the Egyptian Ambassador’s wife), Taiwan (brought all the way from Asia by our very own Jessica) and other African countries (thanks to Rose Seed). To you all, a million thanks. We couldn’t have done it without you!!

In particular we loved: the kiddie’s corner organized by the German table; the face-painting table under

the capable hands of Angie; the special recycled curtain next to the Belgian and Dutch table; the perfectly-coordinated Swiss tops worn by Sabine and others; the North American table exhibiting sweets galore (Canadian maple syrup and all things sweet from the US!); the Union Jack look of the UK table; the wonderful colours of the capulanas in the Mozambican table; the Irish cheese; the French mini Tour Eiffel; the Scandinavian candles; the South African mosaic hot plates; the Italian designer accessories; the fast-disappearing Spanish hand-painted fans; and the Portuguese everything (from books to Port)! So thanks again to all the members who have put time and effort to bring goods from their countries or make them themselves!

We were also very lucky to have great vendors present. TCT Dalmann and their gorgeous wooden items were a favourite, as always. Niel and Nelia Hoogenhout came all the way from Cape Town to show some of their beautiful ‘JOY Bracelet’ jewellery – colourful, original, and very lovely! Plus we had several of our very own ICM members showcasing their creativity: Cita and Melissa with their photography, Jackie and her amazing Kenyan goods, Sharon and her jewellery, and Marylene with her silk flower arrangements.
And, since Christmas shopping is so tiring, Christina, Jessie, and others were at the rescue with cold water, refrescos, coffee, tea and an amazing variety of cakes, cookies and other sweet treats donated by our members. The perfect ‘pick-me-up’ between table hopping!

With the help of Liz, Joy, Patrina, Piri and the students of the American School who volunteered to help for the day, we managed to avoid long entrance queues, move parasols to follow the fickle sun, and ensure a smooth running of the very popular international food buffet!

We did so well selling raffle tickets that we had to bring forward the prize draw, as we had no more tickets left by 1:30 pm! See below for a list of the lucky winners. Our fantastic raffle was made possible by the many generous sponsors. ICM would like to thank: BlueSky American Express, Nuarro Lodge, Nkwichi Lodge, the Southern Sun Hotel, Isandlwana Lodge, Schulphoek Guesthouse, Old Joe’s Kaia, the Cardoso Hotel, and Green Rhino.

We are also extremely grateful to the following individuals and organisations who contributed to this event: The Italian Embassy, Kaya Kwanga and Richard Jackson, Parmalat, Coca-cola, and Café Sol. Thanks also to the Girassol Indy Village for allowing us to use their parking space and to UNICEF for participating.

The International Christmas Bazaar was a fundraiser and we are proud to say we raised a lot of money for the local charities that ICM works with. We have raised nearly $13 000 US dollars. This, coupled with the positive feedback we’ve received from participants and visitors alike, make this one of the most successful ICM events. THANK YOU AGAIN!

*In alphabetical order: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

       International Christmas Bazaar Raffle Winners

Special Thanks to the Italian Embassy & the following Prize Donors & Sponsors for the ICM International Christmas Bazaar Fundraiser!

Also thanks to the Girassol Indy Village and Richard Jackson.

June 18 - Dinner out @ Belsol Restaurant

For those members not yet having had the pleasure of attending one of these dinners, I would recommend you get to the next one!

For me these dinner evenings are great as it has nothing to do with our husbands' business or where they work! It's all about getting to know each other better and for our husbands to enjoy with us. The restaurant had a cozy friendly atmosphere with attentive staff. I cannot speak for anyone else but my prawns were very tasty. They sure know how to cook prawns in Mozambique!! As the evening wore onand the laughter grew louder we were treated to surprise entertainment (Lisbon fado music!!). The wonderful voices of Antonio Monge (Filomena's husband) and Jose Norberro Carillho (Soraia's husband) filled the restaurant as did the wonderful guitar playing by Eduardo Castell Branco. Even though my understanding of Portuguese is limited, to say the least, the music and songs were performed with such passion that I loved every minute of it!! MUITO OBRIGADA gentlemen and we look forward to future performances! Good food, Good wine, Good company!!! See you at the next dinner! (by Christina M.)

June 9 - Purple Panic Crafts Sales

Sometime the beginning of this year, ICM member and Mad Hatter hostess, Rita Sheridan, looked back on that event and said,"The Mad Hatter's was so much fun, let's do another crafts sale." We are a lucky bunch to have Rita and her roof top, so we got busy right away organizing what was to become the "Purple Panic Crafts Sale". Artisans were researched and invited, some of whom had never showed in Maputo before. Charities such as All Nations were also invited to come and sell their crafts.

We needed a theme and decided on the unpopular color purple - hoping that the ICM would cash in on the 100 mtn penalty for the purpleless, in addition to the cakes and coffees we knew we would sell. Christina started organizing the cake table, with the benefit of Kathryn's experience from the year before. We found some great sponsors for our raffle, and the decoration committee, Stella and Maria-Fernanda, scoured the town for the color purple. Invitations were made up and sent out to our members and friends in the community. All in all we had fun organizing the event.

When the big day came the artists arrived and started selling. TCT Dalmann was the hit of the day and sold out almost all of their wooden artifacts. Other artisans, such as Zezinho from Maputo with his linens and horn jewelry and Nina Cassimo from Ilha de Mocambique with her beads and ceramic jewelry were very popular. Wonderful food was delivered by our members and later enjoyed by the international community . The club was able to raise about 30,000mtn for our own coffers and charity donations.
tch this space for the next icm event....

Also congratulations to the following prize winners at the Purple event!!
Liz (a 2-night stay at Nkwichi Loge on Lake Niassa)
Muzi (a 3 night of Cardoso Weekend Stay)
Candy (1 night for 2 at Machampagne Luxury Tented Camp)
Chantel (2 round trip tickets to Inhaca Island)
Rose (Shopping Spree for 3000 MTN at Mr Price)
Linda (Purple Pamper Package including Massage)
Amaka (Nokia 1112 cell phone)
Janetta (Nokia 1112 cell phone)

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