The HAAS 2012 Spring Picnic on 21 April at Sugar Land Lost Creek Park was a wonderful and enjoyable event. After an evening of heavy rain, Saturday morning was bright, cool and very breezy, later warming up so the 50 people could thoroughly enjoy the wonderful day.

For the early comers, there was hot masala chai, lovingly prepared by Narendra, and fresh fruits such as bananas and oranges. Cookies, chips, and juice were also available for snacking.

By about 10 am most of the kids had arrived and the Youth Committee started off the kids events with an Easter Egg Hunt. Kids were very excited and had a great time looking for the plastic eggs and bunnies filled with candy. All these were then collected and displayed on a table, and later equally distributed among the kiddos.

Next on the agenda were games. These were played with equal gusto by the kids and the adults alike. We started off with the 3 - legged race. The children proved to be extremely agile, and ran back and forth with their partners. Adults too did a great job. Next was the sack race, followed by the lemon and spoon race. These games got everyone warmed up in the beautiful sunshine on a really cool and pleasant day.

The men and some ladies then decided to play a game of Cricket. Even Sadanand Mam did some deep long-on fielding for sixers being stuck mercilessly by Gautam off the bowlers incuding Chetan, Anand and Nishant. Riven showed he had great potential when he displayed some good batting technique. Not to mention the good coaching he got from some of the veterans. Many of the ladies then formed a group and went for a long walk to the other side of the lovely park trail which is called the Oyster Creek trail. Kids were free to play in the playground, or to get their faces and hands painted with cute motifs by the Youth committee, led by Anisha and Sheila, Ria, Charani and Pooja and other volunteers. This kept everyone busy till noon, when the eagerly awaited lunch arrived.

Lunch was a typical ‘picnic menu’ consisting of Vegetable Biryani, Dahi Vada, Chips and a variety of Fruit Salads prepared by Maya, Usha and Nita. To accompany this delicious meal, there was very tasty ‘Phanna Taak’ lovingly prepared by Jyothi pachi. Kids also had their favourite Cheese pizza.

Replete after this scrumptious meal, all were rearing to play the Tug-of –War. The kids went first, then there were teams of adults, and also Men v/s Women. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest (Natanya to Kumud pachi!!) enjoyed this game. After the exertions of the tug of war, it was most refreshing to eat the ever popular “Ice Golas” prepared by Ramkrishna Prabhu mam using his ice crushing machine. The colourful icees were enjoyed by one and all.

Everyone was then just waiting for the Bingo. Samhita did a great job in calling out the numbers. The lucky winners were Anand and Aparna who got the first prize for the line, Sudhir won the other line prize. The lucky winner for the full house was Roopa.

This brought an end to the wonderful day, when all began to disperse. Kids were given certificates for their very sporting participation in all the events. All went home exhausted, but with happy memories of the fun filled day.

Thanks to the wonderful ‘Teen Team’ consisting of Anisha, Sheila, Ria and Charani, who helped to organize the kids games, and keep them entertained. Keep it up, and we hope to have more participation from you teens from now on!! Thanks also to all who helped to set up and clean, cook and transport food. With all their help, the event was a smooth success.

Financials:
Total attendees – 41 adults (including kids above 12) & 7 kids (under 12)
Total collections for the event: $455.00
Total expenses: $382.25
Membership fee from two families: $65.00

The picnic photos have been posted on the HAAS Picassa album. Thanks to Gayathri we have a good collection of photos. She made sure every detail was captured.