Thanks to the enthusiastic support of so many people, the 2009 Christmas cards are sold out.  Thank you to all who generously contributed to this project.  The sale of the Christmas cards raised just under $700, the total of which, along with other funds raised to assist the Sabie grandmothers (gogos), will be sent to South Africa in the next few weeks.

Interested members and potential members of Grannies à Gogo are invited to an informal coffee party on November 30 at 2 p.m.  With the hosts, the past chair and the first vice chair of the Steering Committe, you will have an opportunity to chat about past and planned activities for both the Sitabogogo in Sabie, South Africa and Vernon’s Grannies à Gogo. You will also be able to meet other Grannies à Gogo members, always fun and very interesting. We are a diverse and active group of women dedicated to making a difference, locally and internationally.

For more information, directions and contacts, please email us at granniesagogo@gmail.com.

As a teaser, visit our photo albums to see recent photos of the gogos in South Africa.  And, then, please join us at the coffee party to learn more about what we are doing to assist them in their raising of their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren.

A group of Sitabogogo meet on Thursday mornings to create African bead and wire jewelry. To see more photos, click on the picture; then, to return to this web page, click on the back arrow at the top of your browser page.

You’ll be a member of the LIONS or CHEETAHS prowling the Savannah of our town, or the GIRAFFES munching daintily along city treetops, or the ELEPHANTS browsing through the Vernon veldt!

The Fall Fundraiser for Grannies à Gogo: the Vernon – South Africa Connection is set for Saturday, November 7th. Each of our 4 host homes will offer a course of AFRICAN CUISINE for up to 10 guests, with each group moving on to a different host home for the next course. (Unlike the leopard, we WILL change our spots.)

5:00 Appetizer
6:00 Soup
7:00 Main course
8:00 Dessert

So get a group of friends together to carpool, and set out on a unique, delicious, and entertaining evening’s trek through South Africa’s cuisine.

You’ll experience dishes such as:

• Afrikaans Bean Curry appetizer known as Bunny Chow along with a Biltong Quiche
• followed by a scrumptious Sweet Potato Soup accompanied by African Corn Bread
• a main dish of ground beef and tea-soaked fruit known all over South Africa as Bobotie served with two vegetables and a glass of South African wine
• all topped off with, what else but, Tipsy Tart for dessert!

Registration

Until Friday, October 16th registration will be open only to members of Grannies à Gogo and their friends.

After that, registration will be opened to the general public. We will use a first-come registration process. As there are only 40 spaces available, please register as soon as possible to reserve your place for you and your friends. A fantastic deal at $40.00 per person!

Please email your registration to joaniedavidson@shaw.ca and include your phone number, too, or call Joan Davidson at (250) 545-7021

To Confirm Your Registration please make a cheque payable to Grannies à Gogo and, in the memo line, write Kitchen Safari. Then mail it to:

Grannies à Gogo
c/o Joan Davidson
6451 Southwind Rd.
Vernon, BC V1H 1B7

The Kitchen Safari is SOLD OUT.  Just in case spaces open up, please call Joan at the number above, to be placed on the waiting list.

This year, in the interest of getting to know one another better and to promote friendships, Grannies à Gogo is sponsoring in-home coffee/tea/juice parties.
We will:

• get to know other Grannies in our organization
• hear about exciting upcoming events for Grannies à Gogo
• learn how our efforts are helping the Gogos in Sabie
• share ideas for future Vernon events
• enjoy coffee/tea/juice and chatter with friends

Our first Coffee Party was on Friday, Sept. 18.  Stay tuned for more to come!

Our second Coffee Party, on Tuesday, October 20, unfortunately, had to be cancelled due to unforseen circumstances.

Our next, will be in November.  Stay tuned.

On Saturday, May 2, Grannies à Gogo offered a series of African themed workshops as a fundraiser in support of our Sitabogogo in Sabie, South Africa.  All of the workshops were led by accomplished artists.  This fundraiser was a grand success, not only financially, but also in terms of the learning experiences, the joyful atmosphere and the sheer fun of “playing” together.  Click here to see the slideshow!

This is a video of the Gogos singing the song Susan taught them as described in her blog post of November 30. https://granniesagogo.com/2008/11/30/susans-blog-sing/