LACEO Banquet 2009...

Over Mothers' Day weekend, the annual LACEO banquette promised to be a very nice three-generation family event. For those of you who don't know, LACEO is the Latin-American Cultural Exchange Organization. LACEO is a Philadelphia non-profit organization, dedicated to outreach to youth and the local community, located in Graterford Prison, Graterford PA. LACEO usually holds a banquet complete with guest speakers on the day before Mother's Day.

We left the house around 9:30am and stopped at a McDonald's along the way for breakfast and a bit of people-watching. After breakfast, we were back on the road. We arrived at Graterford around 11:00am. Once a year, for the last few years, we get the opportunity to sit with Sam in a more relaxed setting and have food that doesn't come out of a vending machine. This weekend, Mom and I, along with Tony and Liz went to see Sam at the LACEO annual banquet. This year, the banquet was very well organized.

We were pre-screened in the visiting area and escorted to the banquet area in small groups. The guards all had lists of guests and checked everyone off the list as we proceeded through the screening process. After the screening process, we arrived at the banquet around noon. The banquet took place in a gymnasium. Tables and chairs were set up in a grid in the center of the gym. There was a modest art gallery on one side and a podium in the middle of the gallery.

A selection of deserts were available, buffet-style on the opposite side of the gallery. Food was available, again, buffet-style, against a wall between the gallery and the deserts. On the wall opposite the food, a space was set aside for picture-taking.

The menu included a variety of Asian-American and Latin-American dishes and a few other entries. There was white rice, shrimp-fried rice, rice with octopus, shrimp egg rolls, potato balls stuff with meat, macaroni and cheese, and a selection of cold cuts and salads. The desert table included ice cream and a selection of cakes and pies.

We had a good time and left around 3:00pm. We got home around 4:00pm.

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