The sun shone brightly on this year's Annual Picnic, helping the American and Canadian Association and its friends in their early celebration of Canada Day and the U.S. Independence Day.

ACAP President John Lakatos opened the festivities by presenting the Association's past Honorary President, the Canadian Ambassador to Peru, Hughes Rousseau and the United States Deputy Chief of Mission, John Caufield who, as the new ACAP Honorary President, US Ambassador to Peru, J. Curtis Struble was out of town, welcomed us to the spacious U.S. Embassy grounds in Monterrico.

Also in the Opening Ceremony, the National Anthems of Peru, Canada and the United States were played and we could all sing along with the lyrics printed in this year's informative and colorful printed Program.

The food concessions offered a wide variety of fare, from the traditional hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and pizza to sushi and even a pachamanca! The inflatable games kept the kids happy, along with face painting, tattoos, and performances from Ronald McDonald, the Metro Kidz and others at a special Kid's stage.

The main stage hosted warm-up performances by guitarist Lee Piscioneri, the rock band Indigo and singer July Estrada. The main act from the band No Se Quien y los No Se Cuantos was a highly entertaining combination of music and comedy. It began with a rendition of the theme song from Raúl Romero's popular afternoon teenie bopper TV show, Habacilar. Other hit songs during their hour long performance included “Magdalena,” “Yo de Ti” from their new CD “Pisco Sour,” and spectacular encore performances of their classic hits “Las Torres,” “Sin Calzoncito,” and “Los Patos y las Patas.”

An extraordinary fireworks display, set to a dramatic musical score, closed the evening.

The smiles on the faces of the folks as they streamed out of the Embassy grounds after said it all: “thanks for a great afternoon, and we'll see you again next year!” -- JR