Ms Jo-Anne Brown (kneeling at the front left of the photo) joins her staff for a group shot.

In true Celebrations style Jo-Anne Brown and her team kicked off the Festive Season with their Annual Christmas Open House and Customer Appreciation held last Wednesday, 28 October evening at the Mirco Centre.

As guests arrived they were serenaded with a live performance from the talented violinist, Kate Allenger, who set the mood with a festive selection of well-known Christmas melodies. Next, Celebrations’ Director of Business Sales, Nadia Fagan stepped up to the stage and gave a warm welcome to guests before introducing the amazingly talented Vivendi performers to the stage, who wowed attendees with a breathtaking acrobatic display and stunning costumes.

Celebrations’ CEO Jo-Anne Brown was next on the stage to thank everyone for attending and to give a brief overview of the year, outlining the challenges and triumphs-this being Celebrations’ “Sweet 16” year in business. Reverend Godfrey Meghoo then gave his annual Christmas blessing.

Then Celebrations’ Enchanted Christmas Store was officially opened. Guests swarmed into the store to purchase the latest in Christmas décor and to admire the beautifully-designed Christmas trees on offer this year. “It is like walking into a Winter Wonderland,” one customer commented, “the only thing missing is snow!”

Throughout the evening guests were invited to enjoy an open bar, appetizers from Azzuro as well as samples of Seven Fathoms Rum, wine from Cayman Corker & beer from CayBrew. Mixmaster DJ of Krystal Entertainment provided the music for the evening with fantastic prizes being won throughout the night kindly donated by the Ritz, the Marriott, the Wharf, the Westin and Hemingway’s to some very lucky winners!

This year Celebrations’ chose Special Olympics Cayman Islands to be the recipient of all proceeds made from their Annual Wreath Raffle. Maxine Everson and her team from the Special Olympics were extremely happy with the response from attendees, raising almost CI$800. Mary Fortney was full of praise for one of the athletes, Shanike Ebanks who also attended the Open House and who gained a lot of supporters on the night, “Guests not only purchased the raffle tickets but also chose to make personal donations to the cause as well,” she said. Mary mentioned that all money raised would be going towards purchasing a new vehicle for the athletes which they desperately need; they were very grateful to be given this opportunity by Celebrations.

Jo-Anne Brown was delighted with the turnout for the Grand Opening. “I love this time of year, our Open House is a great way to start the season and gives us the chance to show our appreciation to all our valued customers. We have a wonderful selection of gifts this year, including a fantastic line in Lennox giftware specifically for Christmas and as always we take great pride in bringing the newest trends and styles to Cayman both in décor and gift items,” she said.