Below you will find descriptions of our past events. To see upcoming events and activities for 2005, check out our SLANE 2005 Events Calendar.

Please note that you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.

Christmas party '03:
The Christmas party was held on Saturday December 13th 2003, at the Milan Restaurant in Shrewsbury, MA. The Christmas party had some activities for kids including a nativity play and special visit by Santa. A D.J. was present to entertain the crowd. The food was catered by Milan itself. For the first time as a fundraiser, a SLANE 2004 Calendar was printed highlighting photographs of Sri Lankan children at various events. There was also a raffle and a live auction to raise money for ongoing projects supported by SLANE.

Discover Sri Lanka Children's Day:
This event was organized to promote awareness of the Sri Lankan culture among st the Sri Lankan kids in the United States. For the first time, this event represented booths of the four different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, namely, Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher.

Table Tennis Carrom Tournament:
The Table Tennis and Carrom Tournament was held in April at a T.T. Club in Rhode Island. This year, there were some new and enthusiastic participants and as a result some new champions emerged.

New Year Celebration '04:
The New Year party to coincide with Sri Lanka's Sinhala and Tamil New Year was held in Framingham, MA. The cultural show this year featured Sri Lankan children who had the opportunity to display their talents and to add a sense of awareness to Sri Lankan culture and traditions. About 150 Sri Lankan's attended this event. As always, the dinner, a delicious Sri Lankan meal, added flavor to the night. A live Sri Lankan band from New York was brought in to entertain those present.

New Year Observances '04:
For the first time, SLANE conducted a second celebration of New Year traditions and rituals on April 24th 2004 in North Attleboro, MA. This event, held in a school gymnasium was exciting in that people of all ages participated in some of the typical games held specifically during this time of year.

Vesak/Poson Celebration '04:
The Vesak/Poson celebration was held in May at the Laotian Buddhist Temple in Rhode Island. A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk from the New York Viharaya and five other monks from various institutes were present to deliver a special talk and to conduct the religious observances. For the first time this year, meditation was added to the agenda - perhaps a stress reliever for all those present. Children presented a few poems praising different qualities of Buddha.

Deepavali Celebration '04:
For the first time, SLANE celebrated Deepavali on Saturday, October 23 rd 2004 at the Knights of Columbus, Watertown, MA. Despite the fact that it was the first of its kind, it was fairly represented by both Tamils and Sinhalese. The agenda for this event was simple, yet exciting. The food was exclusively Tamil / South Indian, catered by most of the participants. Those present, particularly the Hindus were very appreciative of the fact that SLANE organized such an event.

Ramadan Celebration '04:
SLANE, together with its Muslim brothers and sisters, celebrated Ramadan for the very first time on Friday, November 19 th 2004. Despite the short notice in planning, the event was well attended. There was a good mix of Sri Lankan and Indian food. Some danced the night away, whilst for others it was a night to meet, network and make new friends. The response and enthusiasm was truly of a positive note, so much so, that SLANE will add this event to its Calendar of Events as an annual celebration.

Essay and Art Competition:
SLANE completed the judging of its art and essay competition. To refresh the memories of us all, this project was initiated in February 2002 through a grant received by SLANE. The judging took place at the Foxboro Public Library and the judges were Lisa Bialy of Children's Art School in Framingham, Bevis Peries with the support of Ranjith & Pushpika Wijesinghe, Janak Ambalangodage and Sujith Wimalasooriya. SLANE will shortly announce the winners on its web site and in Sri Lanka's local news media.