by Greg McMillan

There weren't any mooseburgers, and you couldn't find any Canadian bacon, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the invitees at the first pre-Canada Day barbecue hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Santo Domingo.

In a move to jumpstart interaction among Canadians living or working in the Dominican Republic, Canadian Embassador Adam Blackwell hosted the extremely well-received event June 8 right inside the grounds of the Embassy.

"A lot of Canadians go back to Canada in the summer, so we decided to hold this early," said Mr. Blackwell. "The whole idea was to bring Canadians here together, so they could meet and talk. Hopefully there will be more like it."

Judging by the reaction of the invitees, that should be a lock. Most of the estimated 100 in attendance - they ranged from business leaders and their families to ex-patriates - spent a pleasant three hours introducing themselves and exchanging personal 'how-did-you-end-up-here?' stories. Business cards, email addresses and telephone numbers were exchanged and everyone interviewed genuinely wanted to keep in touch with their newfound Canadian friends.

In between, they drank Dominican beer, Canadian wine and enjoyed an old-fashioned barbecue with salads and desserts. With a backdrop of rock music, there were balloons and miniature Canadian flags for the kids and plenty of good spirit to boot. A hot, humid and breezy Santo Domingo evening capped it all off.