June 2001 - Nr. 6
Dick reports...
An affair to remember…
…and not easily duplicated was the 44th Anniversary of carnival – or Mardi Gras, if you prefer – in Hamilton, the "Mardi Gras Capital of Canada". Since 11 is a very important number as carnival is concerned (Carnival traditionally starts on the 11th, 11th, at 11:11 and ends at Ash Wednesday the following year) 4 times 11 established a landmark in Canada.
The celebration took place at the Chandelier Place in Hamilton and about 400 revellers showed up to help the hosts – the G.K.G. Narrhalla ’58 – celebrate 44 years of carnival in Hamilton.
The
first item of interest the visitors noted was a fabulous display of carnival
memorabilia in the hallway. Pictures of past "Royal Couples", the
Crystal Palace of 1859 – where carnival actually started over 141 years
ago – huge cases with various medals from around the world and earned by
the Narrhalla members over time – and hundreds of photographs from events
in the past. It was awesome! It also provided no small measure of delight
when people recognized themselves or friends, or when the photos triggered
other fond memories.
This
feat of longevity in carnival is something to be proud of. Many carnival
societies in Canada have fallen by the wayside and ceased operation when the
old guard went to Valhalla – or wherever carnivalists go when they leave
– and no young blood had been recruited to carry on.
Membership is the answer to a continuation of carnival societies and attrition invariably ends its existence.
However, foresight by the directorship since October1957, when Julius Rauchfuß, Ted Ellwanfer and Phillip Waldecker first met to father this K.G. Narrhalla, has helped to lead this society and has kept it alive for 44 Years. One of the main reasons for the continued success was the switch to English as the language of carnival in Canada – much to the chagrin of the "Old Guard" – but a boon to interest created in second and third generation Germans. This helped to maintain interest – especially by the dance guard (and sometimes their boyfriends) because they could now understand what was going on and appreciate the demonstrated traditions. One other factor was the connection and close ties to the Germania Club 1864 of Hamilton, their support and the provision of a ‘home’ for the Narrhalla.
But
let’s go back to the festivities. When all the guests had arrived and
where seated at the beautifully decorated tables a sumptuous dinner was
served. Whenever a large serving plate was empty, the staff quickly replaced
it with a fresh one to ensure that no one was left hungry: chicken,
schnitzel, penne arabiata, and more. It was one of the best dinners of this
kind, I have ever attended. Kudos to the staff! Coffee and cake rounded off
this fabulous meal and made the audience receptive to the official part of
the evening’s program.
When
the ‘Elferat’ (The court of Jesters) and their female counterparts had
seated themselves on the dais, Albert Kergl, president of the Germania Club
and Honorary President of the Narrhalla, opened the proceedings with well
chosen words of wisdom and introduction of the special guests present this
evening: The hon. Lincoln Alexander, former Governor General of Ontario,
Robert E. (Bob) Wade, Hamilton’s Mayor and his wife Ida, David
Christopherson, MPP and a host of others including the BDKK President Fred
Wagner. All of these special guests gave short addresses, congratulating the
Narrhalla ’58 for its success and Hamilton’s Mayor remarked that he now
understood why Hamilton is "Canada’s Capital of Mardi Gras". Of
course all received the special medal created for this occasion that also
depicts the Crystal Palace of 1859 fame on it. David Simon, president of the
Narrhalla, Hugh Turner, ‘Elferratspresident’ (and Prince for the last
two years) and Fred Wagner also addressed the audience and pointed out some
of the past successes of the Narrhalla.
At the end of these proceedings the various presidents of the attending carnival societies presented gifts and plaques in congratulation to the hosts.
Attending societies were: KG Narragonia Brantford, KG Treuer Husar, Toronto - 1. KG Blau-Weiss-Rot, London – 1. KG Londoner Funken Rot-Weiss – 1. KG Teutonia, Windsor – KG Blau-Weiss Eintracht, Oakville – 1. KG Narrenzunft Concordia, Kitchener – 1. KG Ottawa – KG Treuer Husar, Mississauga – KG Essener Freunde, Detroit – 1. KG Ontario Prinzengarde – Germania Downriver, Detroit – 1. KG Blau-Weiss, Sarnia – GKG Harmonie, Toronto – 1. KG Klein Aff from Borbeck,near Essen, Germany. As you can see, some of the visitors had come from the US and Paul Biegger, Honorary president of the Narrhalla, from as far as Monaco. Now that is what I call dedication!
After
the official part of the evening was concluded the entertainment was next on
the agenda and one of the definite highlights was the Solo dance by Tina
Moskopp from the KG Meck-Meck, Stromberg, Germany. This young lady was also
a guest here in Canada at the opening of carnival in Kitchener two years
ago. If you thought that she was good then, you should’ve seen her now.
"Wow" is an understatement!
Another
highpoint was the "Viva Las Vegas" premiere by the Narrhalla
Ladies, a solo by the Narrenzunft’s Funky and guard dances by the
Narrhalla’s Juniors and by Detroit’s Kindergarde.
By
the way, the Chandelier Place, where this event was held had reserved the
‘Lincoln Room’ as a smoking lounge, to keep the rest of the building ‘smoke-free’.
Excellent solution. But the weather was nice, so the smokers did their thing
outdoors that evening.
Kinderfest at the Hansa Haus
Hosted
by the "Weiss-Blau Bayern Jr." Schuhplattler, the 7th
annual children’s festival took place on Sunday the 6th of May
and was attended by The Kitchener-Waterloo Schuhplattler & Folk Dancers
(Junior group), the Enzian Schuhplattler Verein from Kitchener, G.T.E.V.
Alpenrösl, St. Catharines and the Vychodna Slovak Dancers from Mississauga.
This
is one of the events the kids eagerly await each year. Usually the weather
is nice, lots of old friendships can be renewed, parental supervision is not
too strict and good food is always available. And of course there is always
a fantastically rich Tombola (raffle) held at the end of the afternoon where
great prizes can be won.
It
is also an opportunity for the various groups to show off their expertise at
the various dance demonstrations and to see how their peers perform and what
can be learned from watching them.
And
the kids are having fun. After all that is what this is all about and the
emphasis is on just that. But you can also see a sense of pride and
accomplishment in the sparkle of their eyes – and the eyes of their
seniors - when they finish their dance demonstrations.
Heimatabend
The
STV Weiss-Blau Bayern hosted the annual "Heimatabend" at the Hansa
Haus. This being a traditional affair a great number of traditional guests
had arrived to join the party – some from as far as Rochester (STV
Heidengold & STV Alpengrün) and West Haven, Connecticut (HSV Bavaria)
in the states. When the various groups marched in at the beginning of the
event they were led by the flags of Germany, Canada, USA and Bavaria. After
completing a couple of circles around the hall everyone stopped for the
national anthems, played very professionally by the Black Forest Band.
Other
guests were: GTEV Maple Leaf Almrausch from Ottawa - the Gau Trustee and Gau
Vorplattler - GTEV Alpenrösle, St. Catharines – GTEV Alpenland, Hamilton
– Kitchener-Waterloo Schuhplattler & Volkstanzgruppe – Concordia
Enzian Schuhplattler Verein – Volkstanzgruppe Almrausch, Brampton and of
course the hosts themselves, Seniors and Juniors.
There
was also a guest present from Hamburg, Jan Barvitzki - a
"Zimmermann" (Carpenter) and member of the "Vereinigung der
fremden Zimmer- und Schieferdeckergesellen" who is travelling the world
as a "Wandergeselle".
One
of the guests of honour was Her Worship Susan Fennell, Mayor of Brampton,
who addressed the guests and wished them well. She later admitted that she
had immensely enjoyed the performances of the various dancers and the bell
ringers.
The Board of Directors had decided to hire the Black Forest Band from Kitchener, as I had mentioned earlier. This was a "First time performance" at the Hansa Haus, by this band. That was also a pretty good choice by the board and we will likely see them again at this venue. Of course the various groups brought their own musicians to play for the individual dances.
The
hosts added something new to the Bell-Ringer performances. Now they have
about an ‘octave’ of kids, each with a different bell, to play. The song
they chose for the evening was "You can’t be true, dear". It is
of course needless to mention that the performance received raving applause.
The Hansa Haus kitchen did a fabulous job of providing for the inner man and I heard many people praising the food and the efforts of the staff. One of the guest said, "I love coming to the Hansa Haus, since I can always be sure to get an exceptional meal here". My sentiments also.
The
traditional "Schnapps Bar" opened later in the evening and
appeared to be always well visited
It is gratifying to see the younger members of these groups
enjoying themselves. The kids obviously love dressing up in those beautiful
costumes and meeting others of their peers’ in situations such as this
event. 
And
it is important to interest the young ones in order to maintain a continuity
of the group itself, and the heritage aspects involved – even if the
spoken ‘German’ is no longer an issue.
Well, that’s it for this month. As always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
