CARNDUFF - It was a quiet long weekend in Carnduff. Many used the weekend to go elsewhere. One home, though, was a busy place and many people were there.
Mitch and Lilibeth Baleta are part of Carnduff’s Filipino community and they chose to use the long weekend to celebrate the birthday of their son Sean, who had just turned three. Whenever Filipinos celebrate, they hold nothing back.
The party was held at the home of Lilibeth’s sister and brother-in-law, Jen and Giefred. They live on an acreage in town and that was needed, as about 50 people showed up. The celebration kicked off with one of those Filipino feasts and, as always, there was more than enough food to go around.
Then the fun for the kids began. First, it was an Easter egg hunt, something that was originally planned for Easter but pushed back because of unco=operative weather. Then a piñata of sorts was lowered. Rather than breaking something to unload all sorts of goodies, treats and toys were attached to a frame and the kids jumped up and down to grab hold of the things that caught their eye.
A large clay flower pot was then lowered. That was smashed, dropping more candy for the kids to scramble for. And as if that wasn’t enough, a swag bag with more treats was given to each child.
A bouncy castle and a trampoline were set up for the kids to work off all that sugar.
Meanwhile, adults sat around visiting and watching the kids enjoy all the activities.
As the evening wound down, the birthday cake was cut up and distributed. Lilibeth makes some very unique cakes and Sean’s was no exception. It was a building structure topped with a construction crane. It was delicious. The crane was not edible; it ended up becoming another one of Sean’s birthday gifts.
