During the weekend preceding July 4th, my wife and I took a road trip to St. Louis, Missouri. That weekend the Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent of North America (APPNA) held its 34th Annual Summer Conference. The purpose of this trip was two-fold; first was to showcase my wife's clothing collection  and the second was photography related. I covered King Edward Medical University's banquet and Senator Casey's  meetings with various committees working on issues related to Pakistan.

Safar Couture, my wife's boutique held it's first national level exhibition. The response was better than we expected with very positive feedback. Mainly the young and young-at-heart were the buyers and told us that Safar Couture outfits were unlike the mass merchandise everyone else was selling. We've had several requests to have exhibitions in different cities, so depending on how soon we can get fresh outfits made we may be traveling again. One of the exciting moments was when we attended the banquet on the final night. The young lady who belted out a stirring Star Spangled Banner, wore a Safar Couture outfit she had bought the day before. This came as a total surprise and thrilled my wife to no end.

It was good to see the Senator again. He had a very busy day, with a schedule chock full of meetings. His dedication to Pakistani-American relations is commendable as he gave full attention to the issues on people's minds. Saturday night the Senator spoke at the banquet and was well received.

Speaking of the banquet, there was a musical performance that night. The group got the young crowd jumping and singing along. They performed well into the night, with their final number around 2am. This made 8am come around a bit too early, as that was the time we needed to be at her booth for the final day of the expo.

The drive back was more tiring because of the long weekend. The very next morning we headed up to Mississauga, Ontario for a wedding. Details in the next posting.

So here are some random shots from the concert. Enjoy.