May, 2006 - Nr. 5
Dick reports...
Beaches are great…
"I
wouldn’t want to live anywhere else," one of the residents told me when I
visited the area on occasion of the Easter Parade – hosted by the Toronto
Beaches Lions Club on Easter Sunday.
About
2000 people, consisting of marching bands, over 100 colourfully decorated
floats and cars – led by Toronto Mayor David Miller – entertained thousands
of residents and visitors lining Queen Street East from Monro Park Avenue to
Woodbine, on this sunny day.
Originally
started on the Boardwalk, about 40 years ago, the parade soon moved to Queen
Street East, when the organizers realized that they needed more room as the
event - that started as part of the celebrations on Canada’s Centennial in
1967 - grew in popularity.
I
spoke to various people and had to marvel at the cohesiveness and the love
of the neighbourhood they demonstrated. I asked them what it is that makes
this area so special but no one c
ould
really put a finger on it. "I just love it here", said one lady, with a
greyhound on a leash, "Our family has lived here for three generations", she
said, "and I think it is one of the best areas in Toronto".
That
reaction was pretty common among those people that I interviewed. One
visitor – who lives in the north end of Toronto – said that the
y
even come here to shop since the prices are lower in this area of Toronto.
Well, I am not going to take his word seriously, but I am marking this
colourful occasion on my mental calendar for next year.
FIFA World Cup Soccer
The name of Munich’s Olympia Park is already enshrined in Soccer Folklore as the venue at which West Germany won a second FIFA World Cup on the 7th of July 1974.
Now, some 32 years later, the stadium is set to play a leading role as the FIFA world Cup returns to Germany. The opening is set for the 9th of June, 2006 at the new FIFA World Cup Stadium in Munich.
About one million fans are expected in Germany. German Cops are slated to be posted at British Airports to screen soccer fans for known rowdies.
Locally the Danube-Swabian Club is the chosen venue of the German Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce, which will host soccer fans for the game on the 14th of June.
The Hansa Haus will be opening its doors for the opening game at 12:00 noon of June 9, 2006, and will be serving lunch for the fans. Next game will be at 3:00 pm on the 14th of June and the next game on the 20th of June at 10:00 am. Information at 905-564-0060.
Additional information available from the German Consulate General website at www.toronto.diplo.de/, where you can go to the link of Planet Soccer, and the official FIFA website at www.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com..
Should anyone be interested in local soccer affairs and history, there is actually a Soccer Hall of Fame, which you can explore online at www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca
Kinderfest at the Hansa Haus
This afternoon festival marked the 12th time that the annual "Kinderfest" was hosted by the Weiss Blau Bayern Junior Schuhplattler Group in cooperation with the German Canadian Club Hansa.
Enter the Participants
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As Scott Siegner - the MC for the event – mentioned in his welcoming address: "Kinderfest is a celebration of children and cultural dance. It is also about community and fellowship allowing all of our children to meet, interact, and enjoy the performances of children from other ethnic backgrounds and communities participating in their respective ethnic dances and keeping those traditions alive".
Weiss Blau Bayern Junior Schuhplattler
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Then he thanked the GCC Hansa and the KG Hansa for the donations of $200.00 each to aid in staging this event and listed the groups that attended this afternoon.
Folk Ensemble "Ilinden"
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Shiamak's Indo Jazz Dance Movements
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Blinch Irish Dance Company
Guests of the Schuhplattler group were the Concordia Enzian Schuhplattler Verein from Kitchener, the Oshawa Funkengarde and Club Loreley Youth Dancers, the Shiamak Indo Jazz Dance Movement, St. Elias Heritage School "Iskra", the (Macedonian) Folk Ensemble "Linden" from Mississauga and the Blinch Irish Dance Company from Brampton.
Club Loreley Youth Dancers
Concordia Enzian Schuhplattler Verein
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St. Elias Heritage School "Iskra"
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It
was wonderful and gratifying to observe the enthusiasm and dedication
demonstrated at the performances. Needless to mention that the magnificent
costumes of some of the performing groups contributed enormously to the
colour of this occasion.
These facts were not lost on the large audience and were often rewarded with sustained applause.
During
the intermission raffle tickets for the traditional "Tombola" went on sale
and were eagerly obtained. This seemed to be one of the largest amounts of
raffle i
tems
I have ever seen and it didn’t take long to dispose of most of them
immediately, once the tickets were
sold
out.
Of course, the highlight of the afternoon was the Piñata Game at the end of the afternoon; when most of the participants formed a large circle and various ones were chosen to try to hit a piñata and break it open to release the candy it contained. Since the children were blindfolded, this at times resulted in amusing episodes. But eventually the piñata gave up and a mad scramble by the kids made sure that all the candies found eager recipients.
Enthusiastic kid, fabulous food, great entertainment and a wonderful ambience, made this an affair to remember – for the children of any age!
As always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
