July 2001 - Nr. 7
Dick reports...
Caravan time in Toronto
Not blessed with too much spare time, I made it a point however to visit the Danube Pavilion at the Danube Swabian Club in Scarborough this year.
It
was a wonderful experience. The reigning Miss Danube, Kristy Hudson and one
of the "Mayors" of the pavilion greeted visitors at the door.
Several mayors were designated and took turns at the various functions that
mayors do at Caravan since most of them were also part of the entertainment
offered to the visitors.
Speaking
of entertainment, much of it was looked after by the various dance groups,
from the real young ones to the adult groups. It was a pleasure to note the
dedication of the youngsters who took their job seriously and danced very
professionally.
The
adult groups – including the Szauter family – put on some very exciting
shows. Wonderful waltzes and polkas where the girls were flying received
lasting ovations from the guests, since that was something unique and
something most of them had never seen before.
In
between the dance demonstrations a small group – the UP BEATS – played
dance music for the guests. This group consists of Michael Machulec and his
daughters Catalina (trumpet) and Carina (violin). It was amazing to observe
the quality of sound possible from just three gifted musicians. (The girls
are 14 and 11 years old). They even managed to start an impromptu
"Polonaise" during one of the dances for entertainers and visitors
to participate and snake-dance their way through the club.
In
the evening the Danube Swabian Brass band took over and entertainment was
restricted to the more mature dance groups, including the Edelweiss
Schuhplattler Group from the Austrian Club.
Also
the fact that City TV crews spent several hours filming the entertainment
only attests to the quality and popularity of it.
The static display in the mezzanine drew a great deal of interest and most of the visitors took pictures of it to have a personal souvenir. Also in the mezzanine was a display of craft items for sale and "Regina’s Dirndlstube" showed off her beautiful creations.
Most of the about 1500 visitors to the pavilion during Caravan, partook of the delicious food and delightful pastries – provided by the Ladies’ Auxiliary - that were available. Well, where else can you get a tasty stuffed pepper dinner for only $6.00?
Needless to say that both bars enjoyed constant office business even though people kept their consumption fairly low if they had to drive home afterwards.
I also tried to gain admission to the Novgorod (Russian) pavilion, but they insisted that I buy a passport. They wouldn’t even accept my press credentials from the Toronto police department. Well, somebody else will have to write about it!
Hamilton in the news
The annual "it’s your festival" in the Gage Park in Hamilton was staged again this last weekend, by the Hamilton Folk Arts Heritage Council. This has always been a popular event during this time of the year and hasn’t changed much. Almost all the ethnic groups in Hamilton made an effort to look their best to the many visitors. Native food and drink was offered as well as contemporary Canadian food. But I think the children had the most fun. Midway rides and face painting were only some of the pleasures offered. It was also a giant flea market type atmosphere where the exhibitors vied for customers for their many different trinkets and other paraphernalia. One of the performances that drew a large audience was the martial arts exhibition. Some of the kids do amazing and wonderful things with their hands and feet, so don’t get too close!
Carabram is coming!
And that is something to look forward to this month. Especially if you want something special in musical entertainment. An accordion orchestra from Lower Saxony in Germany will play in the large hall of the Hansa Haus in Brampton, during Carabram. (See also the ad in this issue!) They are on a North American "Tournee" to demonstrate that the accordion is not the poor relative to the piano as most people think. The repertoire includes not just the well-known "Wald und Wiesenmusik" – which can very loosely be translated into "Country and Blue Gras" – but also classical items and lots of dance music.
Since the event of sophisticated electronic technology, the lowly accordion has kept pace with progress to the point where some of these instruments now almost rival an orchestra and the purpose of this gig is to expertly demonstrate this point. And from what I heard, they are doing a fabulous job, fabulous enough to justify a trip for our readers to the Hansa Haus in Brampton to hear them.
Also, Peter Neudorf and the well-known "Euro Connection" will be playing in the big tent during the Carabram festivities and the Heritage Museum will be open to the public again. Of course there will be lots of good German food and drink for the visitors to enjoy! See you there!
As always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
