Telugu Cultural Association of Greater Toronto Picnic was a blast with fun and food

On August 7th 2022, the Telugu community of Greater Toronto Area had their Summer Sunday Sunblast Celebrations at Mississauga Valley Park 1275 Mississauga, Canada. Several hundred Telugu people participated in the summer picnic celebrations held at Mississauga Valley Park in Mississauga under the auspices of the Telugu Cultural Association of Greater Toronto (TCAGT). Telugu families from surrounding cities Toronto, Markham, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, Waterdown, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton, Milton, London and other areas have joined the day long Sun blast Celebrations.

President Devi Chowdary, Secretary Siva Prasad, Director Harsha, Board of Trustees Koteswara Rao Polavarapu, Dr. Jagan Payidiparty, founder Bose Vemuri, Past chairman Surya Bezawada, Rao Vajaa and other ex-officio members including Rajesh Vissa, Anitha, Sreevani, Priya, Manohar, Sada and Naveen interacted and greeted all the attendees. In spite of the scorching sun many families joined in summer picnic celebrations.

TCAGT received remarkable responses from the participants with full of family Socialization, everyone enjoyed the delicious and traditional Food items from beginning with breakfast, Lunch and dinner including Samosas, Mirchi Bajjis, Hot Corn, BBQ chicken, tea, coffee pop and cold beverages. The celebrations started with a Traditional South Indian Telugu breakfast LIVE cooked and served by NILGIRIS restaurant.

Kids and parents enjoyed the various varieties of DOSAs, Idli and vada with coconut chutney, and Sambar. A variety of games were well organized for all children to enjoy and winners were awarded with Cash Prizes. Several South Indian traditional dishes were cooked on-site at the park and served hot to all the participants. Sailaja Payidiparty, Anitha, Srivani and Padmini lead the team of volunteers and served the food continuously until the dinner.

Some of the food varieties include Ravva Kesari, Vegetable Biryani, Plain rice, Banana fry, Brinjal, Oakra, Dal, Pumpkin Dappalam, Onion Pakora, Mirchi Bajjis and several other food items were prepared first time at the park. TCAGT team served fresh food to the Telugu Community members including visiting parents, new immigrants and students. Several sponsorship booths were setup including District A711 lions, Be A Donor Drive, Raasya Foods, LSP Financial Services and Liberty Tax.

A711 district leadership PDG Jeffrey Freidman, PDG Sandy Judhan, and other district officers participated and supported the Global Telugu Lions Club memberships and projects. TCAGT executive committee and trustees provided sincere thanks to all the sponsors, volunteers, life members, new members and guests. Special thanks to Sundine Produce and Nilgiris for their support to have an on-site food preparation to freshly cooked food and served.

Special thanks to Vasiuddin Mir for his excellent Photography and Videography. The Summer PICNIC Sunblast celebrations have brought fun, and excitement and boosted high energy levels in every aspect after the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary provided vote of thanks to all the attendees for making the picnic more memorable and wonderful community get together.