August, 2005 - Nr. 8
Dick reports...
"Carabram" at the Hansa Haus
The club was very happy with the event. All the work that
had gone into setting it up – on a slightly smaller scale than in previous
years – had paid off.
The Displays
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A lot of thought had gone into the preparations for this
event. The food service was no longer at the usual window to the kitchen. It
was set up in a circle on the floor of the great hall. This made it very
accessible and was easy for the hungry to manoeuvre around. Around the walls
of the hall various attractions were placed, such as the ‘Schnapps Bar’, a
cake counter, Regina’s Dirndl Stube displays, wood carvings by a local
artist, Heinz Hachenberg’s Police Paraphernalia displays, some Christmas
items and other goodies on display.
Visitors having fun
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One of the displays in the foyer was a "Smart" car by
Mercedes-Benz. This little jewel drew a constant crowd of interested
visitors. Mercedes couldn’t buy this type of publicity!
And the crowds kept flooding in! The first item of interest
that they saw on arrival was Klaus Wehrenberg, the organ grinder from
Newmarket. He and his monkey greeted the visitors at the door to the Hansa
Haus with a bit of musical nostalgia. His stuffed monkey was an immediate
favourite with the kids, of course.
The hall was always full. Many of the visitors had their
passports stamped at the door and had been to other pavilions and it always
looked as if more were coming in than were going out again. Some came by
car; others came via a special shuttle bus. But come they did!
The younger crowd
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The "Euro Connection" band played in the hall and Albert
Dittgen – the ‘house-band’ – played in the beer-patio outside of the hall.
At one time ‘Dieter Kahl and his accordion’, an itinerant entertainer, tried
to play along with Albert – but it was not a marriage made in heaven – he
was better off on his own again.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Schuhplattler Dancers entertained
with folkdances and demonstrated a unique feature where they used buggy
whips to crack in time to the music. The guests noisily applauded this rare
and unusual demonstration.
The club’s own ‘Weiss-Blau Bayern’ dance group also
performed for the visitors – accompanied by Peter Henkel on his accordion -
which also included the bell-ringer and a
dance where guest from the
audience were invited to join the dancers and learn a traditional folk
dance. The guests did amazingly well, by the way.
The food was ‘spectacular’ – at least that is how one
visitor put it: "The food was spectacular, I bought two tickets and I ate it
all," he told me as he boarded the bus to go to the next pavilion.
He was
also very enthusiastic about the beer! There isn’t really much more I can
add to that sentiment. "Vox populi" – as the old Romans would have said!
Burgenländer Picnic
The weather did not stop the visitors from attending the ‘Anna Picnic’ at the ‘Evening Bell Park’ that Sunday afternoon – even though it looked like rain for the rest of the day.
However the weather held out and the picnic was the success it deserved to be.
After morning mass, celebrated by Pater Kurt Eisenbarth at
the chapel on the hill atop the park, the visitors lined up for lunch in the
large clubhouse.
Schnitzel or sausages –
with the required condiments were
offered and consumed in great quantities. There was no long wait since the
crew in the cookhouse and kitchen had been busy all morning preparing for
the onslaught of the hundreds of hungry visitors.
Kudos to the many volunteers that made this picnic the
success it was. Also kudos to the ladies’ auxiliary who had also baked a
variety of cakes and cookies that found many lovers
among the attendees and
Erwin Huber’s ‘Berliner’ (Krapfen) doughnuts were also eagerly consumed. The
favourite beer? Gösser, of course, from Austria! By the way, all the
proceeds, after expenses, go to charity!
This get-together is always held on an available weekend close to "Anna Day" – in honour of St. Anna, the traditional name of the mother of the blessed virgin – which is the 26th of July, as decreed by Pope Gregor XIII in 1584 – and attracts not only "Burgenländer", but also many members of other ethnic groups. All were welcome to enjoy the legendary warm and friendly hospitality of the host club.
St. Anna is the patroness of women in labour, sterility, poverty, grandparents, miners and a plethora of others. She is also the one of the most popular saints of the Latin Church. According to the Gospel of James, Anna and her husband Joachim (hebr. Jojakim), after many years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they would conceive a child. Anna promised to dedicate the child to God’s service.
Joachim and Anna brought the child to live and be educated in the temple when Mary – the later mother of Jesus - was about three years old.
St. Anne, by the way, was also the much-loved Saint of Martin Luther and the emperor Maximilian.
Prior to the official opening, the ‘Golden Keys’ from
Kitchener, started to entertain with a number of beloved tunes that prompted
some of the guests to dance.
Shortly thereafter the official opening started with
national anthems of Austria and Canada and welcoming addresses by Otto
Novak, the club’s president, Austrian Consul Dr. Karl Schmidt and the cub’s
vice president Roy Perl.
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The younger guests also enjoyed the large swimming pool and the various games, staged throughout the afternoon. One of the favourites again was the annual melon-eating contest.
Some enterprising souls also offered custom jewellery and assorted tablecloths for sale to the guests. Congratulations to the ‘Toronto Burgenländer Klub’ for another great event!
As always,
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
