Cara Sunday Picnic
Cara Sunday Picnic 2013
The end of summer is not all bad news for Cara clients, family members and staff, as it means the Cara Sunday Picnic is around the corner!
The Cara Sunday Picnic, hosted this year on 24 March, is an annual event hosted by Cara (Community Accommodation & Respite Agency) as a gesture of appreciation and goodwill for the people they support. Cara’s clients include adults and children living with multiple and significant disability who are supported through permanent or transitional accommodation, or respite options such as Camps for Kids, weekend getaways, or weekend respite stay overs.
“We support over 500 people living with disability across the state, from as far away as Port Lincoln,” says Cara chief executive, Denice Wharldall. “This is the only opportunity where everyone, including family members and support staff, can get together to share experiences and enjoy each other’s company.”
The event, sponsored by Edmen Staffing Solutions, provides a hearty BBQ lunch, drinks, desserts, an International Food Kitchen, accompanied by a wide range of stage and roving entertainment. This includes live music, facepainters, animal encounters, giant puppets, market stalls, and even a visit from the Easter bunny for the children.
The Cara Sunday Picnic 2012!
Hundreds of Cara clients, families, friends and staff turned up on Sunday 1 April to enjoy live music, scrumptious food, and the chance to catch up and unwind.
Highlights included Cara's world kitchen with 20 international dishes, three live bands, appearances by Daniel Johnson of the Adelaide 36ers and the Easter Bunny, tons of raffle prizes, German folk dancing, face painting, and mountains of fantastic BBQ food.
View the gallery to see for yourself.
Cara Sunday Picnic 2011
View the 2011 Cara Sunday Picnic gallery
It was planned to perfection.
Blue skies, sunny and temperate, the morning after April Fools' Day had it all.
Estimates varied but somewhere between 450 and 500 people turned out for Cara's Sunday Picnic in the grounds of the Woodville Rd offices.
Whatever the precise number, it was absolutely packed. And all the better for it too.
The crowds materialised early, car and mini bus spaces at a premium and word had spread. From across Adelaide, from Murray Bridge, down from Port Augusta and across South Australia
Perhaps it was the pull of the international kitchen and its promise of a multitude of culinary tastes and experiences. Maybe it was the music and six or seven different acts who performed stoically and soulfully throughout the day. Then there was the bouncy castle, face painting, juggling, raffles and more.
Or maybe it was a rare moment to spend time with friends and family in a cheerful and convivial atmosphere.
Whatever the reason, they rolled in and they rolled out all day, a succession of smiles and sunny dispositions, tempered only, and very marginally too, when the queues at the many different food stalls ballooned to an extraordinary size for 30 minutes or so early in the afternoon.
And the choice was many, whether barbecue offerings courtesy of Morialta Lions or the melting pot of dishes cooked up by many Cara staff. Nepalese cuisine, Chinese, Indian and much more, the list went on and on and all lapped up too.
The siren call of the ice creams after lunch ensured the several hundred coolers didn't last long either, a welcome respite as the sun and spirits continued to rise.
Cakes and jams were snapped up, the Friends of Cara group headed by Rhonda Fischer doing sterling business while the outsized 200kg chocolate bar on offer in the Cara raffle kept the sales ticking over, Maggie Baxter taking the honours here, the real winners though perhaps her three grandsons who were promised the prize. Or so she tells us...
Ultimately it was simply a day to get together and a day for everyone.
Cara chief executive officer Denice Wharldall was thrilled with the great efforts made by everyone to come along and enjoy the festivities.
"It's wonderful to see so many people who use our services who have travelled a long way to come here," she said.
"This picnic could not have been possible without the strong will and support of our community.
"Today is all about our clients, their families and friends taking time out from their hectic schedules and having an enjoyable and relaxing time."
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