April 2000 - Nr. 4
Dick reports...
It is all over!…
…the carnival season, that is. Here in Toronto it went out with one of the grandest "Rose-Monday-Balls" I have ever had the pleasure to attend. But I’ll tell you more about that one in chronological order.
The "Narrhalla 58" in Hamilton wound up the season with their annual costume ball on the 4th of March. Not really a spectacular affair this year – I have seen better – but lots of fun nevertheless, just in a smaller circle.
Peter Neudorf with his "Euro Connection" did their best to inject a bit of excitement into the event. It helped, and the dance floor was always occupied. Of course there should have been more people present. Where was the support from the non-carnivalists club members? It was the only game in town, that I knew of.
The guard provided entertainment, and the Royal Couple made the guests feel welcome.
I
left earlier than usual to make my way to the Hansa Haus - to check out the
costume ball of the K.G. Hansa.
I
arrived just in time for the costume prizes. This part of the event was
staged earlier than the usual last part of the evening, a great idea by the
way! Again, some very creative and innovative costumes were on display.
Including the "Four Aces".
But
the greatest surprise was the fact that the house was packed to the rafters
and most of the carnivalists that I had sort of expected to see in Hamilton,
where there. Maybe it was closer to home.
One
of my favourite bands provided the musical part of the entertainment: Fred
Rohrer – whom I hadn’t seen in a long time – was doing great in
keeping the guests on the dance floor. The K.G. Hansa picked a Hawaiian
theme for their costumes – all created by Angelika of the Ladies’
auxiliary. Great job! Well done!
All
in all, this was a very successful event – and almost always the last one
in the carnival season.
Except for "Rosenmontag" at the Donauschwaben Klub (Danube-Swabians) in Scarborough on the 6th of March this year.
It
was the fourth time that the "Harmonie Brass Show Band" staged and
hosted this event. And every year it got better and better.
Kudos
go to Gaby and Joe Schick for the success of this tremendously fantastic
annual effort.
This
year the icing on the cake was the fact that for the first time a real
"Royal Couple" came to visit this event.
As
I have mentioned many times before, the presence of a prince and princess at
an event lifts it from just an event to a real carnival event. Toni Baumann,
the president of the Danube Swabians also agreed with me on this
observation.
It
was a great surprise to the guests, when this gracious couple – His
Foolishness Prince William of Wales and Her Loveliness Princess Monika of
Hamburg marched in with their "Hofmarschall" David Simon and the
president of the Germania Club in Hamilton, Albert Kergl, the long-time
president of the Narrhalla 58 society in Hamilton.
This
was also the signal to the band that carnival was really starting now and
the band – including he Panzergrenadiere (private joke!) – started
taking off and the crowd followed suit. The rest of the evening was
"wild". Rarely have I ever seen a large crowd – there were about
250 or more people present – enjoying themselves, without exception, to
this extend. Of course the band had a lot to do with that too! "Das war
der Rhytmus, bei dem man mit muss" (the type of rhytm you just have to
follow) and they kept this up all night with only a couple of short breaks.
This
must be one of the best bands extant today. I have known them for many years
– going back to the time when they started as the "Fanfarenzug"
of the G.K.G. Harmonie, the German Club’s carnival group – and they have
only gotten better and better.
Many
people I talked to are already eagerly awaiting next year’s "Rosenmontagsball",
so am I. They all said they would be back next year and bring more friends.
One sad note, while I am on the subject of the old German Club Harmonie, good old George Steinig has passed away last month and was quietly cremated according to his wishes. Us old-timers remember him well from the time when the club on Sherbourne Street was still in operation. He was the club’s "Faktotum" who did everything that needed to be done to make the club run smoothly. He was also a long-time member of the carnival society Harmonie and the Zigeunerinsel Toronto, where he became an honorary member when he turned 80 years old.
George
was also well known for his phenomenal memory. He could recite "Büttenreden"
from 40 years ago and knew about 27 verses of the "Krumme Lanke",
a song that he could still sing at 85. We will all miss him – and all the
other carnivalists that passed on before him. Well George, here is a last
Alaaf and Helau – until we also meet again!
Rosenmontag in Kitchener
At 11:15 the Hoppeditz keeled over and the doctor could only pronounce him dead. Well, he went back into his coffin to wait – in suspended animation (?) – until he will be resurrected in November. The "Heringsessen" on Ash Wednesday concluded the season.
The 34th "Manöverball" at the usual haunt, the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton, was full of surprises again. Narragonia Brantford did not participate this year. The five groups that danced in this year’s competition were Oshawa, Sarnia, Kitchener, London and Mississauga.
The show dances in the afternoon were really something to
see. Wonderfully innovative and colourful costumes as well as some fairly
sophisticated routines could be admired. Blau Weiss Sarnia came in first,
followed by Loreley Oshawa and Kitchener’s Narrenzunft.
In the Guard Dance Category Blau-Weiss Sarnia took the cup,
while Londoner Funken Rot-Weiss placed second, followed by the Treuer Husar
Mississauga.
The "Tanzmariechen Solo" was won by London, followed by Sarnia and Mississauga.
Sarnia and Kitchener tied for "Originality". Boy, am I ever glad not to be a judge!
The free-style Funky performances were great this year too.
Kitchener took that cup, followed by Sarnia and Mississauga.
Kimberly Rautenberg was voted "Miss Bundes Hospitality" this year. Congratulations Kimberly!
I am always amazed how well these girls get along among
themselves, even when they live so far apart. But you can tell the spirit
and the camaraderie is there and they enjoy what they are doing. Although it
is sometimes hard to get the girls to come to the rehearsals - so some of
the dance teachers confided in me – and that shows the results at the
competitions. But most of them go all out and even have to apply an icepack
to sore muscles at times. But that goes with the territory, I presume.
Now all we have to look forward to, is the Junior and Kinder
Manöverball in Kitchener on the 15th of April, and that is
really the end of the carnival season and the start of the "moth-ball
season" for costumes and uniforms!
After the excitement at the Manöverball, I dropped in on
the Germania Club, in Hamilton, where the GTEV Alpenland hosted a "Heimatabend"
in a sold-out house. About 100 Schuhplattler performed that evening and the
guests had come from Rochester (SV Heidengold & BV Alpengrün), Syracuse
(BC Almenraush), the Alpine Dancers from Kitchener, ASTEV Edelweiss and the
Austin Junior Schuhplattler from Toronto and the Weiss-Blau Bayern and
Juniors from Brampton, as well as the two GTEV Alpenrösl Vokstanzgruppen
from St. Catharines.
Judging by what I observed this could have been one of the more successful events for the various "Trachtengruppen" and Schuhplattler groups ever staged. The mood was fantastic and everyone appeared to have the time of their life. And that goes for the youngsters too, especially when they scrappled around the floor for a hatful of coins – thrown out by the audience.
One of the long-time members of the Germania Club, Gisela Rudolf, celebrated her 85th birthday this evening, in the company of a niece and nephew – Peter & Hannelore Böhm – who were visiting from Germany for the occasion. Happy Birthday, Gisela!
As always,
Dick Altermann
( German-Canadian, arts, entertainment, Mardi Gras, heritage )
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
