A Brief Tour of Niagara Falls – A Remarkable Feel!

Featured Article – By Wenn I.

My long time good friends back home were given the opportunity to visit NYC for the nth time but never got the chance to go upstate (Buffalo) to take a peek of the world-famous Niagara Falls. Last month, some of them who are leaders of local church organizations attended a 3-day conference in New Jersey. Among the delegates to the said conference were my friends who are known for their exemplary contributions and service to their respective local communities in Cagayan de Oro City, namely Judge Evelyn and husband Engr. Kelly, Atty. Rene, the couple Dodo and Helen Sescon, Jun Dominguez and Ric Santillan. Surely, the conference itself for all of them was a once in a lifetime event as it was a gathering of heads and active members of religious organizations throughout the globe.

After the said conference, they spent some more weeks for shopping, tours and more getaways. While in NYC, my humble place in Ozone Park served as the home base of most of them while they were busy looking around the beautiful and scenic spots in the city and visiting houses of other home town buddies who were eager to invite and bond with them too. It was a worthwhile experience on their part as they have been able to see some of their former town mates and also got invited to take a few day tours to nearby NYC's tourist destinations like the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the Trump Tower and other towers in Manhattan, Rockefeller Center and the St. Patrick's Cathedral. They had the chance to visit my local parish, the Holy Child Jesus Church, for the Sunday service and got to have a picture of the church premises.

The highlight of their NY tour was the trip to Niagara Falls. We were all very excited and looked forward to spending this trip a more enjoyable one. As a matter of fact, we left at the wee hours of the morning as I wanted them to relish every minute of the travel so they will forget the fatigue it could bring due to long hours drive. We were joined by other friends, namely Totoy and Melet Lantoria, Cora and Ding, who were very generous to share us their time and treasure. They drove us to wherever we would want to stop in going to and coming from our destination. As usual, picture taking was always part of the fun not only because of the amazing scenery that the state of New York could offer to its visitors but mostly of the group's spirited personalities which made the camaraderie and the trip more lively!

We had to stop by at some of the beautiful parks and enjoyed frolicking under the spring time's heat of the sun, savoring the smell of the leaves and barks of the trees around us, listening to the tweets of the birds and filling our hungry stomachs with some prepared delicious food. As a matter of fact, I have an anecdote to share which merely popped up out of nowhere while we were busy preparing the food on one of the vacant tables in the park. I asked them if they would like to eat ham. Cora, one of our van mates, replied with another question: “Is it Baboy, Wen?” I retorted back innocently, “No, it's pig”! (For those who are not so familiar with the vernacular term, “Baboy” and “Pig” are the same. Baboy is the Tagalog term for pig in the Philippines). There was giggling and laughing to our hearts content!

Finally, we arrived at our destination after 8 long hours but never felt any weariness at all. Immediately, we checked in at the Holiday Inn Hotel which fortunately is just a walking distance to the dockyard of the boat called the "Maid of the Mist". We left some of our belongings in the hotel so we could scan and roam around the area.

So as not to waste the remaining hours of the day, we rushed immediately to the place where the boat's located. Only four of us braved the ride and were able to experience the delight that one can get from riding the maid of the mist, enjoying the water rushing all around while exploring the roar of the Niagara Falls. Oh, some of our companions really missed the fun particularly the view from the Canada side! It was surrounded by the mighty Falls, good we were provided with a raincoat for protection, otherwise we would be soaked with water, just like the rest who preferred not to wear the jackets so they could feel the coolness of nature even though they appeared like mga “basang sisiw” literally ("wet chick") at the end of the ride!

It was an amazing and thrilling experience since as we get to see the roaring Falls up close, it gets even more mightier! Truly incredible! There was an added bonus because of the colorful rainbow appearing behind the Falls. No wonder tourists kept on visiting the place just to get to see the gigantic amazing Falls!

The following day, we hopped inside a boutique souvenir store called “Maids in the Mist” where we bought some “pasalubong” or presents for folks back home.

A funny incident happened once again while we were inside the said boutique store. While Judge Evelyn was so preoccupied looking for an awesome shirt for her lovely “unica hija”, she handed over and entrusted me her shoulder bag which was filled with her very important travel documents (eg. passports and tickets) and her treasures (cash and jewelries) to top it all. After buying all the things she wanted from the store, I was surprised to see her face looking so worried. So, I got worried too. I thought she was not feeling well or perhaps not happy with the things she bought from the store. But there was something bothering her that she got into a panic, we were told she couldn't find her bag. As a matter of fact, she asked me about it and in all candidness, I merely assured her that her bag is probably just inside the store and no one will get it. So, everyone helped in looking for her bag all over the store. While Judge Evelyn was closely scrutinizing the people inside, probably using her legal and investigative intuition, she saw this woman in the mirror standing and bringing along her bag. And guess who the woman was………Lo and behold! It was me! I was carrying my bag on my left arm and hers on my right. Oh my gosh, was that a minor slip of memory or sheer senior moments for both of us! No one even remembered that an event happened earlier before the said lost and found incident. That was hilarious which made all of us laughed and laughed and laughed!

As we were about to depart the place, we reminisced of the happy things which happened during the previous day. We had to rest for a while providing our generous driver laughter and the energy to move on to another destination….the shopping spree! On our way home, we stopped by at Woodbury Factory Outlets, one of NY's largest shopping outlets. They were amused to acquire some of the branded quality items at competitive prices, lower than those being traded in NY's Manhattan area and even way far lower than the prices back in the Philippines for the same products.

While it was a brief vacation for all of us, the fond memories still lingers. I was deeply touched and happy that some of them had chosen to stay in my humble place. After New York, each one has its own itinerary on hand. Some proceeded to other states in the U.S. to visit relatives and friends and I am sure it was a non-stop fun for them! They are now back in their home country safe and sound, with God's blessings and probably still having that remarkable feel of the Niagara Falls!

The Joy of Joining A Multi-Choir Gig: A Precious Moment

Two months ago, myusefultips.com posted an article about the feast day of San Lorenzo Ruiz at St. Patrick's Cathedral wherein a large choir, composed of representatives of various choir groups in NYC, performed during the said event. Some of these choir members will have the chance to do it again on the 3rd of December to kick-off the “Dawn Masses” or “Simbang Gabi” which is a tradition in some parts of the globe and which is also timely as it is the 1st of the series of the 4 Sundays of Advent. As mentioned in the previous blogs, choir music in any liturgical celebration makes it more lively and uplifting.

One of the preparations being administered for the said big event is the rehearsal schedule for the choir which sometimes can be quite not easy in terms of people mobilization/availability and time constraints. Last week, a joint rehearsal for all the invited choir groups was held for the first time so as to, among others, get some feedback on the choir's performance as a group. The said choir, including the instrumentalists, is composed of different choir groups from NYC and New Jersey and the numbers could reach nearly a hundred.

One perfect strategy to make the rehearsal fun and exciting is to introduce some “twists” in between the rehearsals. This was true as is the case during the rehearsal last week, wherein the event organizers requested the participating choir groups to present their versions of some of the songs , included in the repertoire via a singing competition with some cash prizes at stake.

One of the objectives of the said rehearsal was not purely to warm-up or to produce “oil” on the choir members vocal chords, so to speak, but also to boost their confidence in singing. Most of the times, choir members are on volunteer basis and are not music professionals who are attuned to the intricacies of music. As such, there is a need for bouts and practices to sharpen their skills.

Here, take a look at the participating choirs (Ocean of Mercy Choir, Ambassadors of Christ Choir, Jesus Through Mary Choir of NY, Jesus Through Mary Choir of Staten Island, St. John the Baptist Choir, Divine Mercy Prayer Group, and other choir groups) and some guests who were invited to perform in the said event. The choir groups were asked to render two uniform songs, namely "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "Silent Night" while the third song was any of the group's favorite Christmas song.

(Please take note photos are not for public consumption. If you wish to get hold of it, feel free to contact the admin of www. myusefultips.com. Thanks!)

This choir group from New Jersey (see below) was lucky to be picked as the winner, with the 1st prize handed to them on the same day, a check amounting to $400.00. Not bad for a rehearsal!

The 3-lady judges (of which this author was a part of) assigned for this event did their part in making the contest fair and credible, taking into account the criteria (e.g. correct pitch, blending, expression, costume, audience participation, etc.) set for the said competition.

The said rehearsal turned out to be an opportunity to bond with other choir groups and as a music lover myself, it was great to see all of them offering back their talents to God and enjoying the rare precious moments !

2011 NYC San Lorenzo Ruiz Celebration – “Rooted in Culture: Guided by Faith”

A Guest Feature Article

For many of us, Lorenzo Ruiz may not ring a bell, but for Filipinos all over the world, San Lorenzo as fondly called, is the first Filipino saint ever been canonized so far in the church history. During the canonization ceremony, Pope John Paul II referred him as the “most improbable of saints”. He was a simple ordinary married man, just like some of us, struggling to make daily ends meet in every aspect, including his spiritual needs. He was not a person of stature in terms of financial wealth, educational attainment and professional growth. In fact, he was a helper in their local church, then later as clerk which afforded him to support his family's basic needs. This could perhaps be one of the rationale why His Holiness described him as the most improbable saint as it could have really been unlikely for a troubled ordinary man to be elevated and exalted as one of the honored saints in heaven.

Because of San Lorenzo's loyalty and unwavering faith in God, he had done something extraordinarily impossible for an ordinary man to do. You see, when San Lorenzo was about to be tortured and persecuted, he was asked to renounce his religious belief. Instead of acceding to the demands of the persecutors, he courageously responded that even given with a thousand lives he was ready to die and offer his lives to God. The torture given to him was pretty harrowing and scary which for some of us in these modern times, could be forced to yield to the demands of the persecutors in order to be saved. Some of us may reason out that San Lorenzo could have simply renounced his faith “in words” for self-defense, so that if he was lucky enough, he could have been saved (which we doubt very much), thus extending his life on earth, confessed his sins and make amends thereafter and go back to his daily norms, serving God and at the same time be able to be with his wife and children again. But for San Lorenzo, it was an entirely different story, he had strong conviction from the very start, not to utter anything that would not be pleasing to God. Because of this extraordinary qualities which made him a saint, he was “hung from a gallows by his feet, his body falling into a pit”, and it was only after two days that he expired due to bleeding and suffocation, based on various accounts .

San Lorenzo Ruiz has also been officially given by the church the title of patron saint for migrants all throughout the world, particularly for Filipinos. Thus, Filipino community in every nooks and corners of the globe will definitely commemorate his feast day, no matter what! Similar to any feast day celebrations, San Lorenzo Ruiz feast day in NYC started with a nine-day novena before the actual feast day mass held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. The novena was sponsored by individual or family devotees , or group of individuals or local associations and communities. One of the sponsors for the said novena was the Ay!Borongan Association led by Grace Baquilod and family with their guests Ambassador Mario De Leon, the Philippine Consul General to New York and his wife, Eleanor De Leon who support the cause of the Association, the former Justice Leonardo Quisumbing and his wife Dr. Purificacion Quisumbing, who is actively involved in the UN Advisory Com/Human Rights and Msgr. Pepe Quitorio, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and concurrently the Director of the CBCP Media.

Fortunately, www.myusefultips.com witnessed and participated in the said momentous event. For the Ay! Borongan community, it was their first time ever to get involve in San Lorenzo celebration in NYC and to hold mass in the San Lorenzo Ruiz chapel in Manhattan, the only church in the U.S. specifically designated for Filipino community. Such a memorable day for them!

The actual feast day mass subsequently took place at St. Patrick's Cathedral on September 18th and it culminated the San Lorenzo celebrations. It was a high con-celebrated mass led by no less than the Archbishop of New York, Most Reverend Timothy Dolan, his first time to officiate mass for Filipinos and for San Lorenzo feast in his term as NYC's Archbishop. In his homily, the Archbishop expressed his gratefulness for the Filipino communities important role in evangelizing the catholic faith all throughout U.S.A. After the mass, some of the San Lorenzo devotees were lucky to get caring hugs from the Archbishop, even Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Marabe, JCD who spearheaded the event got his share too.

He also thanked the amazing choir who rendered the liturgical music during the mass. It was indeed a miracle for the choir to show such powerful performance as one group as they only got the chance to be together and harmonize hours before the mass.

(choir warm-up rehearsal before the mass at the Consulate office)

The consolidated choir came from various choir groups: the Kalungsod ni San Lorenzo of San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel in Manhattan, the Himig at Alay of Our Lady of Snows in Queens, St. John's the Baptist Filipino choir in Manhattan, the Sta. Maria Choir in Bronx, the Holy Child Jesus Filipino Choir of Richmond Hill, Queens, Singles For Christ and Ambassadors of Christ Through Mary both in Manhattan, and the guest choir, Music Ministry of Oxon Hills of Maryland. These guys were awesome!

By the way, www.myusefultips.com is a staunch supporter of these choir groups!

Despite the odds, the event turned out a success and it was truly God's blessings, through the intercession of San Lorenzo Ruiz!

Good Bye 2010, What A Day To Close It! – Memories and Thoughts

It was the day before the brand New Year start! 31st of December to be exact, we were supposed to be with a close family friend to celebrate the night until the New Year’s Eve, as planned. A very close buddy of mine, however, was on a brief holiday vacation in NYC for the first time and I had to attend to and accompany her on tour related matters.

I never expected that my last day of 2010 could be so hectic and mobile. At 11:00 am, I literally rushed to the hotel where my friend was billeted, just few hours from her NY arrival time and then went straight to Radio City Music Hall on board a car of her cousin to watch the last day (yes indeed, last scheduled 3:00 pm time for the last extended day!) of Christmas Spectacular of the Rockettes.However, the jammed traffic and the frantic tick tock of the Gucci watch made it more complicated. My stomach couldn't handle anymore the tension as we’re exactly 10 minutes late already. We’ve decided to get off the car and walked about 8 blocks but the walking was too dragging not to mention the many people and bystanders squeezing their way out from the crowd likewise in a hurry for the holidays. As we’re about 3 or 4 blocks away from our destination, we stopped a yellow taxi which saved us about 10 minutes of walking which we badly needed at that moment! Lo and behold , we saw the elaborate entrance of the music hall and we were quickly ushered to our orchestra seats! Having overcome the exhaustion from trying to beat the show time, everything turned out perfectly well even if we missed roughly 20 minutes of the show, as we were greeted by such a wonderful spectacular episodes of the show. From the dazzling kicklines of the Rockettes gorgeous ladies, sparkling fireworks, magical high-tech effects with 3-D animations, a Santa flying to the classy and posh wardrobe of the Three Kings journey and the amazingly beautiful goose bumpy Nativity Scene, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular was truly a magnificent way to bring holiday cheer to family , relatives and friends.

After the Rockettes show, we proceeded to the Rockefeller Center grounds where my friend got the view of the skaters and the ice-field skating rink.

We went on to the nearby historic landmark, the neo-gothic structured St. Patrick’s Cathedral which was actually the best pre-NY gift that I could offer to my friend, for her to say a simple thank you prayer for the blessings received for the year! It turned out not just a brief prayer but we were able to hear the anticipated New Year Eve Mass, that was 5 pm. So, more blessings for both of us!

Thereafter, my friend got the glimpse of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, a major thorough fare and shopping center. Would you believe, she was able to buy Chanel and Gucci bags for a song? Woohoo! How come ? Fifth Avenue? Well, we did some little antics with the cooperation of NYC’s upcoming entrepreneurs! Lol!

It was almost 7 pm, we can almost hear our stomach’s growling, so we decided to walk downtown and landed at the world famous Grand Central Station where we had our dinner at Two Boots, a famous Brooklyn original pizza parlor. That was her post New Year treat to me after so many years!

I forgot to mention that the major plan for the day was actually to spend the NY eve at the world-renowned Ball Drop atop One Times Square. However, we failed to check our time and didn’t seriously took into account the requirements for attending the said event, e.g. that approximately 6:00 pm, the bow tie of Times square (between Broadway and 7^th Avenue) will be fully closed to traffic. We could have proceeded to Times Square after the Radio Music Hall’s show just to make it at the site, but it didn’t materialize. As such, we landed in a location with so many spectators who ended up nothing to expect at the end of the day as they were quite far from the major site. It was frustrating as it was really the main agenda for the day! Positive human beings as we are, we spent the night away with thousands of 2010 good byer’s and New Year’s 2011 greeters, even though we weren’t able to have a full view of the Ball Drop and experience the amazing live happenings, including the pyrotechnics, pompoms, balloons and confetti bags at the said area.

After the NY eve event, she dropped in a local souvenir store along Broadway Street and bought something for us! We stopped by a rolling chicken barbecue grill along Broadway Street and she was treated with a Big Apple’s sidewalk version of the chicken barbecue with soda! What an impressive treat!

Tiring yes, but it was compensated with a good deed, opportunity and the blessing to see once again good old best friends! That was indeed a memorable way of spending the New Year’s Eve in NYC. We almost slept at 4:00 am. By the way, the brief stay at Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Park Central Hotel were relaxing!

Thank you so much loving and forgiving GOD for the blessings in 2010!

Here are some of the videos from the Rockettes Show and where we were exactly situated at tthe Times Square Drop Ball. Funny!

Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass) – Series and Developments

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Simbang Gabi at St. Patrick’s Cathedral which kicked off all the Simbang Gabi masses in the tri-state area.

As mentioned in my previous blog, Simbang Gabi has become one of the most important religious traditions, especially for Catholics in the U.S. A series of Simbang Gabi was held in one of the local community Parishes where I regularly visit. A humble missionary priest, Rev. Fr. Richard M., who has recently been assigned in NYC was tasked to officiate the said masses for the entire duration of the nine-day novena. The beauty of this kind of set-up, i.e., assigning one priest for the period covered is that it enables him to prepare and make a follow up of his prayerful talks the previous day. That was what happened in our case, Fr. Richard’s homilies served like a nine-day retreat or a series of recollection about the meaning of Advent and Christmas. The 9th day culminated the Simbang Gabi and I thought it was the most memorable and meaningful Simbang Gabi mass ever held at the said Parish. Prior to the main celebration, a brief chanting of Christmas carols was provided by the choir to have a "Christmassy" feeling in the air, so to speak!

Fr. Richard’s homily was unconventional, not just the regular talk, but there was a touch of art to it, accompanied by acting and singing presentation which required impromptu participation from the parishioners.

The liturgical music was excellent from my perspective, in fact it made the atmosphere joyful yet solemn.

Another Simbang Gabi was held at one of the consulates in NYC. Together with my choir friends, I was able to attend one Simbang Gabi at the said venue which was officiated by Msgr. Oscar Aquino of the St. Lucy's church in Manhattan.

Likewise, our group attended another evening mass at the St. Mary Gates of Heaven Parish, which can be compared like a one-day post Simbang Gabi. It was quite significant and momentous event as our group was invited and given the privilege to sing for a local community mass at the said Church for the first time in its history. Awesome indeed!

A Sneak Preview of the 2010 Simbang Gabi in the Big Apple – Tips and Thoughts

I recall my first Simbang Gabi (or Mass at Dawn) in NYC, I braved the winter chills and the snowy weather just to complete the 9-day novena mass. That was quite a sacrifice for me as I have to travel for an hour after a busy day just to make it there on time. As a matter of fact I was constrained to write something about it as a memento as it was my very first in a foreign land and after a long respite from attending the celebration. Fortunately, the said write-up was published in one of the newsletters of one of the local community groups here in NYC. I could have just re-posted it here to give you a glimpse of what the tradition is all about, regrettably however, the draft has already been deleted from the files and the copy of the newsletter where it was posted has already been archived or disposed of.

While Simbang Gabi’s literal meaning in English is “Midnight or Evening Mass”, it is however translated and notably called Dawn Mass. But in NYC, Simbang Gabi is not exactly held at dawn or in the wee hours of the morning for obvious reasons (e.g. cold weather, etc.) unlike in other countries like Mexico and the Philippines where it is normally held early hours in the morning usually at 4:00 a.m.. Do you know that this tradition began in Mexico in late 1500’s and this is normally culminated by the so-called Misa de Gallo or Mass of the Gifts?

The Simbang Gabi is actually held 9 days before Christmas (could be Dec. 15 or 16 depending on circumstances) but the annual celebration at St. Patrick’s Cathedral is normally held either the first Sunday of December or the first Sunday of Advent. It kicks-off in effect, sort of a sneak preview of, all Simbang Gabi celebrations around NYC!

Two nights ago, I attended the 2010 Annual Simbang Gabi at the St.Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. The theme for this year was “Ang Belen” or “The Nativity Scene”: “A Picture Perfect for Obedience and Humility.

One of our groups was among the choir which rendered the liturgical music together with musical talents such as violinists and up-and-coming singers. It was a well represented choir, there was one from the Queens Borough, The Himig at Alay Choir, another from Bronx, The Santa Maria Choir and one from Manhattan, The Ka-Lungsod ni San Lorenzo Choir from the San Lorenzo Ruiz Church.

Most of the songs were Christmas and Advent related hymns, in preparation for Christ’s coming, examples of which were “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”, "Silent Night" and "Gumising". It was actually like Christmas Eve already as the atmosphere and the people around were in jovial and festive mood. In fact, the mass celebrant, His Eminence Cardinal Edward Egan, was pleased to see the kids’ participants dressed like angels and shepherds.

(photos are properties of www.myusefultips.com)

It was also nice to see majoirty of the Filipino priests serving in NYC concelebrating the mass, with Fr.Joseph Marabe incidentally as the one spearheading the event. During the offertory procession, the community offered monetary and non-monetary items which could then be donated to the needy.

(photos are properties of www.myusefultips.com)

I understand food was everywhere for everyone but since I called it a night, I left early without having a taste of the yummy native delicacies served on the table – sigh!

(photos property of www.myusefultips.com)

While there were some glitches which have been observed during the celebration, it was quite successful however in general.

(photos are properties of www.myusefultips.com)

It is noteworthy that the Simbang Gabi tradition continues regardless of where we are. What’s imperative however, is what is inside our hearts, it is neither our plan to complete the 9-day novena nor the thought that we really have to do it because we were used to it. There’s a profounder meaning to it, it is something about our faith in God, in the right manner as much as possible. Since Simbang Gabi is celebrated during the Advent season, we are actually requested to prepare and be watchful for Jesus’ coming. And the preparation would entail good deeds, not limiting it to the family circle, but to everyone, especially those in need. Obedience and humility is this year’s Simbang Gabi theme and it simply shows the significance of Jesus giving up Himself for His love for us, and choosing to be born unnoticed in a lowly manger.

The said nativity scene should serve as our model on how to make our lives more significant, particularly in this age of plenty and consumerism/materialism. I ‘m going to say it once again, I know it is difficult to be holy these days, and I for one is struggling very hard to be good and not to remain deaf and blind to the cries of people dying of hunger, thirst, war, disease, domestic violence and terrorism.

I hope my dear readers let's try to exert our best efforts to respond to to this plea! I wish you all a Happy and Meaningful Advent!

First Week of Spring – Tip For Big Apple’s Visitors (St. Patrick’s Day)

There are compelling reasons why I would like to write about St. Patrick’s Day as exception to the rule and a slight deviation from the primary objective of my blog site, particularly for the month of March . Nevertheless, for those who have been following my site, you will still find more or less useful tips for women in this article as you read along the way.

Here are the rationale:

1. In recognition of and with due respect to St. Patrick whom I do admire for his courage and endurance. At a very young adolescent age he already faced such challenges, trials, and great achievements in life.

2. The Gothic Cathedral of St. Patrick in Manhattan always makes me feel at home and the memories will always be there as far as my love of music and spirituality is concerned.

3. In appreciation to my colleagues in the local community where I belong, specifically to the amazing and beautiful Irish ladies who are always there to lend a hand and be a friend and they all know who they are! Every 17^th of March, the feast of St. Patrick is celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland as he was responsible for the conversion of Irish people to Christianity. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is both a national holiday and a holyday of obligations. Here in New York City, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is considered as one of the major tourist attractions - it is a great experience if you are visiting the Big Apple on a crisp spring day break! The St. Patrick’s Day parade is the main highlight of this event where hundreds of thousands of marchers participating and a vast crowd of spectators along the fabulous street of 5^th Avenue. What is exciting in this event is the unique color green overshadowing the entire gathering.

Regardless of nationality and creed, you will see people wearing something green and silver or gold glittered green hats and accessories in a festive atmosphere. I had the privilege to witness how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated at the local level. In our community, the event was started with a mass in the morning by the Irish-descent parishioners and friends and it ended with a dance in the evening.

Apart from the Irish food (corned beef with cabbage, among others) and drinks, there was a program with Irish music being played and the traditional Irish dance by the pretty young ladies with their elegant traditional costumes. It was just so unfortunate my cam was not at its best at that time…..as I bravely went to the auditorium on a rainy, windy and stormy night ….for St. Patrick’s sake!

It is also during this year that the 1^st Annual Soda Bread Contest was held. Entries were displayed on the table but since I have to go ahead for another occasion I didn’t get the chance to witness who had the most yummy and mouth-watering soda bread. Incidentally, I had this really funny experience about what soda bread is- I thought all along that probably the main ingredient is soda (drinks), hence the name soda bread until my friend corrected me that it’s soda because it uses baking soda as a rising agent instead of yeast! Honestly, I would have wanted to try on how a traditional soda bread tastes like. Maybe someday, once I got a sample of it, I will definitely write an article about it with the ingredients and the preparations as well! You see, I got a tip for you – about the “soda” thing!

Sure, the color green and the “shamrock” symbol were visible but what was important was the camaraderie among themselves, the fun and the pride of their culture and heritage.

This kind of mood is contagious that even the non-Irish New Yorkers consider themselves as one of them on St. Patrick’s Day!

To all of you, Beannachtai na Feile Padraig agat! Blessings of the Feast of Patrick to you!

My Useful Tips

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