December, 2005 - Nr. 12
Dick reports...
Christmas Fair
in Newmarket’s Tannery
Much to the delight of the vendors, the first day of this annual Christmas Fair started with a surprising number of visitors. They were greeted at the entrance by musical entertainment on a "Hackbrett" (Dulcimer) to get them in the mood.
Many
Christmas type decorations and decorative articles were being offered to the
visitors such as the usual Nutcrackers, "Räuchermännchen" that burn incense,
wonderfully elaborate pyramids that turn either by candle-generated heat or
electric motors, angels of all types and styles, dolls and many other toys
to delight a child – of any age - who finds them under the tree.
Scenes at the Newmarket Christmas Fair
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But many other practical gift ideas were offered as well.
Linen,
tablecloths, sweaters and other delights, which are suitable as gifts to a
loved one. One booth displayed a very impressive selection of incredibly
beautiful paintings on stone. Needless to mention that these were greatly
admired – and bought - by many of the visitors.
For
the audiophile there were marvellous selections of music – tapes and CD’s –
available.
But if you needed a new frying pan for yourself or as a gift to someone starting out in a new home, yes, those were offered at the fair as well.
One item was noticeably absent: Meat or Seafood of any kind. No ‘Kaiserfleisch’ and not even the tasty, smoked products from the Mennonites, which many of the visitors were hoping to find again.
The many Gifts & Decorations
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The Department of Health in Newmarket had banned all of this. They claimed that even the smoked sausages are still raw on the inside. I could not notice this when they offered ‘tasting samples’ at previous Christmas Fairs, of exactly those sausages.
Thank God, that bureaucracy did not ban ‘Gingerbread’ items
and other seasonal baked goods that help to convey the spirit of Christmas –
especially to the younger visitors at the fair.
22 Years of Zany Carnival in Mississauga
Congratulations to the "Treuer Husar Mississauga Carnival Society on the occasion of its 22nd anniversary. It was celebrated at the Hansa Haus on the 11.11.2005 - traditionally starting 11 minutes after the hour.
Since
this is such an important occasion - the number 11 being the guiding number
for many activities in carnival - it was attended by delegations of most of
the local societies and some from Kitchener, London and even Sarnia and
Detroit.
After
the "Einmarsch" - the ‘march-in’ - of the host society, the "Gardegirls"
were getting ready for their first performance. Gerd Jüngel, the MC for the
evening, introduced the visiting guests,
starting
with the president of the BDKK (Bund Deutscher Karnival in Kanada) Armin
Hellmann and his wife. Other guests were Steve Haas, Treuer Husar Toronto /
Karl
Kurtz, Narragonia Brantford / Richard Saur, Narrenzunft Kitchener / Hugh
Turner, Narrhalla 58 Hamilton / Cornel Brüggemann, Ascendia
Hamilton
/ Guy La Plante, KG Hansa Brampton / Silvia Linder, Ontario Prinzengarde /
Renate Kuhlmann, Londoner
Funken
/ Holly Henninger, Loreley Oshawa / Tim Willard, Blau-Weiss Sarnia and the
reigning Royals from Sarnia Prince Manfred and her Loveliness Princess
Elisabeth. Of
course
they all brought many of their, spouses, cohorts and other officials with
them so that there weren’t many empty c
hairs
left at any of the tables in the large hall of the Hansa Haus.
Congratulatory Presentations
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The next item on the agenda were the congratulatory presentations by these visiting carnival societies. Those proceedings took a while since there were about 10 societies involved, but not as long as anticipated because two of the Garde Girls were alert and immediately escorted the dignitaries to the stage and back to the table to speed things up.
What followed this introduction was the first Guard Dance by the host society’s Senior Guard. It was very well performed and garnered heavy applause by the audience.
Now was the time for the Mississauga Express to do what they do so well: playing music again, suitable to the occasion. They had started playing already before the presentations to set the mood for this important event.
What
followed was a presentation from the hosts to the GKG Narrhalla 58, Hamilton
and the MC explained why this is done:
"One of the oldest Carnival Societies is the Narrhalla 58 in Hamilton, they have been our friends forever and have been supporting us for many years. We have had many a good time in their hall, the most recent being their Oktoberfest at which we had quite a few beers and some laughs" Gerd reiterated.
"We seem to always be lucky enough to be the recipients of one or more of their door prizes, maybe it is because there are usually quite a few of us on hand and we always have a good time because people like Albert (Kergl) and Dave (Simon) know how to arrange a party. Since this is always connected with a lot of work and little thanks we thought we would take it upon ourselves to show our appreciation with a little presentation to the two of them. We have spared no expense, would Albert and Dave come up to receive their dues from our president Wilf Küsters and V.P Ulli Müller", he concluded.
This
done, the next item was a show-dance by the host’s Junior Guard that was
also well rehearsed and well presented, to an appreciative audience.
The
busy bees in the Hansa kitchen also deserve kudos for the wonderful food
they always prepare to serve the inner man. I think that - and the delicious
variety at the bar - is another reason why people love to attend events at
this venue.
Door
Prizes and a 50/50 draw concluded this exciting 22nd anniversary
of the Treue Husaren, Mississauga.
Next local carnival events will be KG Loreley, Oshawa on January 28, 2006 / GKG Narrhalla 58, Hamilton on February 11, 2006 / KG Narragonia, Brantford and the KG Ascendia, Hamilton both on February 18, 2006 / KG Narrenzunft, Kitchener and KG Hansa, Brampton on February 25. Potential visitors should check with the listed societies if they are still on track or if changes have been made!
Thanks to Helga Koch we now also have a report on the opening of Mardi Gras at the Narrenzunft Concordia on November 19th, at the Concordia Club in Kitchener.
Here is what she reported:
![Narrenzunft Grand Opening 2005 [Photo: Albert Koch]](512c-Narr-a.jpg)
"Right on time 8:11 pm, M.C. Frank Wolf announced the marching in of the Narrenzunft members and all the visiting groups: Narrhalla 58, Hamilton / Treuer Husar, Mississauga / Loreley, Oshawa / Ascendia, Hamilton / Ontario Prinzengarde / Londoner Funken Rot-Weiss and the Treuer Husar, Toronto.
"Einmarsch"
Photos: Alfred Koch
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![Carrying in the Hoppeditz [Photo: Albert Koch]](512c-Narr-i.jpg)
The
‘Hoppeditz’ was awakened and came quite fast out of his casket. After a
short speech of the Hoppeditz and an "Umtrunk" the Mardi Gras season was
declared open by B.D.K.K. president Armin Hellmann.
The evening’s entertainment included Music by "Variation" with Heinz Lindlau and his band, a solo by the Narrenzunft Kinder Funki and show dances, as well as performances from the Treuer Husar, Mississauga Garde girls. To everybody’s surprise "Elvis" was in the building to help celebrate the opening. There were door prizes and a 50/50 draw. The lucky winners were all from different Mardi Gras associations.
The night's entertainment
Photos: Alfred Koch
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![Kölsch sing-along [Photo: Albert Koch]](512c-Narr-o.jpg)
After
the official part was over, Joe Lindlau, Steve Haas and all "Köllsch"
carnivalists joined together in a typical carnivalistic ‘Sing-along’. It was
a lot of fun and a very harmonic evening".
Thanks Helga for the report and thanks to Bert for the pictures. It’s great, working together!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Alaaf and Helau.
As always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
