May 2003 - Nr. 5
Dick reports...
"Kinder Trachtenfest" at the Danube-Swabians
What a fantastic and colourful experience that was! About 50
youngsters – all dressed in their regional "Trachten" (costumes from the
original region their parents came from) – were participating in this annual
event.
Members from the Danube Swabian Youth Group – including the lovely Miss
Danube, Alisha Szauter, and several parents helped in organizing this
wonderful festival in the great hall of the Danube-Swabian Club in
Scarborough.
Needless
to say, that the kids were obviously enjoying their ‘place in the sun’ that
afternoon. They knew that they were the ‘stars’ - and proud of it – when
they performed their various dance numbers.
The
event started with welcome addresses by Brigitte Wecker, president of the
club and Magdalena Forstner from the ‘Frauengruppe’ (Ladies Auxiliaries) who
provided invaluable assistance in making this event the success it turned
out to be.
Some
of the children started with a series of German folk songs, led by the
matriarch of the ‘Forget-me-not Family’, Ingrid Szauter. It was gratifying
to see how well these kids knew the German texts of these songs.
This was followed by a series of dances performed by various groups of children – some with boys and girls and some with girls only.
Hot
dogs, fruit juice and ice cream replenished the energy the children had
expanded performing their gigs.
The
Danube-Swabian Brass band and some members of the Harmonie Brass Show Band
bridged musical interludes.
Well,
they are doing something right – at the "Donauschwaben" – something that
should be emulated by other organizations in order to keep our heritage
alive in our offspring.
Eggs, Bunnies and kids…
…what a wonderful combination! Where? At Downey’s "Easter Fest" of course. Hundreds of people – most with children – followed Downey’s invitation to collect eggs, had their face painted, viewed and petted farm animals, went on wagon-rides, watched a magician or Cindy Cook’s (from the Polka Dot Door) show on the Easter weekend.
The weather was glorious and the response by the visitors almost overwhelming.
I happened to meet some of our readers at Downey’s
Farm
Market that Sunday afternoon and they mentioned that this sort of
entertainment is not available anywhere else that they know of. (They knew,
because they had read the ad in our paper!)
Kudos
to John and Ruth Downey and all the helpful little "Bunnies" – and the big
white Rabbit, Cindy Cook and Cindy Cook’s owl - for making this an affair to
remember for many youngsters. It is a fair assumption that these kids will
be pestering their parents again for another visit – even if it is only to
buy
fresh
produce, watching the goats or petting the animals in the Critter Corral.
Since the produce is always "farm-fresh and of great variety – depending on
the season – the parents may not require too much persuasion to go to
Downey’s for another visit to the market, or the fabulous Wine Boutique
where they can taste and select some of the delicious fruit wines that have
won Gold and Bronze medals and were selected "Best of Show" at the last
prestigious "Toronto Wine and Cheese Show".
Manöverball in Kitchener
This
one is for the "Kinder" and "Junior" Guards of the BDDK (Mardi Gras
Association) now better known as the Fred Wagner Dance Competition - in
honour of the past president of the BDKK – and held on the 26th
of April this year.
Over
150 girls participated in the crowded hall of the Concordia Club in
Kitchener. It was quite a sight to see all those wonderful show-dance
customs and traditional uniforms, proudly worn by the girls.
Here are the results of the competition of the "Kinder" part of the competition:
Originality: KG Naragonia, Brantford – Show Dance: Narragonia, Brantford followed by KG Narrenzunft, Concordia and KG Blau Weiss, Sarnia.
Kinder - Show Dance
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"Tanzmariechen" (Funky) Solo: Narragonia (and Wander Trophy) followed by Blau-Weiss Sarnia and the Narrenzunft from Kitchener.
In the "Guard Dance" segment Narragonia took first place (and Wander Trophy) also followed by Blau-Weiss Sarnia and Kitchener’s Narrenzunft.
Kinder - Guard Dance
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Now the results of the "Junior" segment of the competition:
Originality: Narragonia, Brantford – Show Dance: Narragonia on top (plus Wander Trophy) followed by Narrenzunft Concordia, Kitchener and the Treue Husaren, Mississauga in third place.
Junior - Show Dance
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"Tanzmariechen" Solo: Narragonia on top (and Wander Trophy) with Narrenzunft, Kitchener and Balu-Weiss Sarnia at their heels.
The "Guard Dance" part of the competition held a surprise, while Sarnia followed the Brantford team as a close second, the third place was shared by the Narrenzunft, Kitchener and the Treue Husaren, Mississauga. They were both equally great! Of course Brantford also got the Wander Trophy back again.
Junior - Guard Dance
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This was also the first year that the girls from the new 1.K.G. Ascendia, Hamilton participated in the competition. I mentioned last year that they would participate.
GKG Narrhalla ’58, Hamilton also participated but couldn’t quite outdo the more experienced competitors. Loreley Club, Oshawa also needs more work, especially the Funky that finished her routine well before the end of her music. Well, nobody is perfect – the answer: practice, practice, and practice again! However, the new black uniforms look great!
But the benefits of a get-together like this are immeasurable. The girls see how important they are, they can measure themselves against their peers, experience a lot of camaraderie, and make a lot of new friendships – some which may last a lifetime.
That alone is worth all the efforts the kids – as well as the parents and other members of carnival societies – put in to make these events successful, to carry on the old traditions and to keep them alive for the future.
We
have pretty well switched totally to English in these carnival advents and
have proven that the language is not important – only the spirit is! Kudos
to the many, many helpers that toiled in the background – including the
dance teachers – who are rarely ever mentioned or are given credit, but are
a vital component of the whole endeavour.
This is also the last "Allaaf & Helau for the preceding Mardi Gras Season. See you all again in November, when the 5th season starts all over again! Have a great summer!
As always, Dick Altermann
P.S.: In the last issue I neglected to mention that a great deal of money was contributed by the Hansa Club to send the Hansa Schuhplattler Juniors (Weiss-Blau Bayern – who are also celebrating their 20th anniversary this year) - to Germany later this year, where they will also attend some dance competitions - and that the K. G. Hansa carnival society also contributed a significant amount of money to that worthy cause. However, the camp-followers (parents etc.) will have to pay their own way!
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
