The international business community got dressed up in their finery on Friday evening at the Hotel Mercure at the Kikuoka Golf Club in Canach to celebrate Thanksgiving in an event organised by AMCHAM, the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg.
While the event was a real festive occasion thanks to the wonderful entertainment provided by Marco Boesen & Co singing and performing on keyboards, meaning the dance-floor was crowded, there were some words of thanks and poignancy at the start, before the party got started.
AMCHAM's chairman, Paul Schonenberg, addressed the 120-strong attendance and said "we should spend more time being thankful", himself thanking the Luxembourg government for their support for the international community. He acknowledged also the support of Alison Shorter-Lawrence, the Chargée d'Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Luxembourg, prior to a new Ambassador arriving, and also Dilek, Malek and Natalia who work at AMCHAM and whom he described as three angels, as well as the AMCHAM committee chairs.
With the support of Sandy Nonnweiler of Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR), Paul Schonenberg explained that the LAR had helped by flying two boxed American flags around Luxembourg, and then made two special presentations. The first was to illusionist David Goldrake who is currently in the middle of his Imaginarium tour despite suffering a serious accident on the eve of the opening, resulting in his wife / stage partner being hospitalised, and who are planning to move to the US in 2016; the second was to the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, Alice Walpole, who will be leaving her post at the end of the year.
The two event sponsors, Openfield and POST Luxembourg, both made short presentations, and a tombola was held, before the turkey was paraded on a platter to signify the traditional thanksgiving meal of pumpkin soup and turkey was about to start.
Thanksgiving proper will be next Thursday, 26 November.
Photos by Geoff Thompson
