Magyar News, 1996. szeptember-1997. augusztus (7. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-04-01 / 8. szám
^^^^ortyfour years in the counting 's—'^Äand still going. This is about the Vk fundraising dinner dance that the W V Pannónia Club sponsors every spring. It has two goals; one is to give the attending people a good time, the other is to raise funds that will support students of Hungarian decent in their college studies. As with all events the attendance varies from year to year. This Cafe Budapest happens to be on the higher level of the scale. An unusual number, over two hundred, filled the ballroom of the Inn at Longshore in Westport. The place itself does attract many Hungarians because it reminds them of the countryside in the old country with the long road lined on both sides leading to the casde, or mansion. Underlining factor in this picture is the Hungarian music that filters out and mixes with the cool spring air. This ball has a tradition to build on, the way things used to be in Hungary, it also faces the challenge of an adapted culture that is part of our everyday life in America. It is like the generation gap. Understanding and reason on behalf of tire older generation should not only bridge this gap but should find the way to pass on universal qualities of our Hungarian culture. It was a pleasure to see close to a third of the pppparticipants, teenagers and recent ones, included in this joyous evening. They weren’t excluded from the good times of the old folks but they were also catered to. All-in-all the youngsters had a good time and they were touched by our traditions and they will learn to carry it on by coming next time again. People stood up from their tables and applauded as four young men carried Hungarian flags into the hall. Sara Matolcsy, president of the Pannónia Club delivered her greeting, then Dr. Balazs Somogyi Master of Ceremonies invited the debutantes and their escorts, introducing them one-by-one. They were: Abigail Balogh & Ted Blackburn, Eszter Bodi & Victor Deák, Katalin Bodi & Karoly Kaszala, Melissa Borko & Tibor Kovács, Andrea Kandó & Gianni Montefuscoli, Dorotttya Kovács & Matthew Mester, Magda Kovács & Daniel Odescalchi, Alexandra Matolcsy & William Pilato, Nicole Pallai & Phil Raus, Kellie Rorke & Christofer Sexton and Blanka Solta & Michael Vitti. After the debutantes Olga Rethy, Chairman of the ball, escorted by Joseph Balogh, Co-chairman, thanked everybody for coming and wish them a joyful evening. As requested by the Co-chairman, she gave permission to officially open the 44th Cafe Budapest Ball. Olga Rethy and Joseph Balogh started to dance the traditional first waltz with the debutantes and escorts joining them on the dancefloor. Following the dinner there was a revival of a Hungarian ball tradition. A group of youngsters presented an original gala-dance, the Palotas.lt was a unique and unusual performance that brought everybody onto their feet. It was so successful that the audience demanded an encore. The dancers were: Abigail Balogh, Eszter Bodi, Katalin Bodi, Enikő Fabian, Kalman Jonas, Karoly Kaszala, Magda Kovács, Tibor Kovács, Tünde Miklós and Zoltán Varszegi. The clever choreography and teaching the dance was done by Enikő Fabian who is an educator and was member of the State Folk Ensemble in Hungary. Naturally with so many youngsters crowding the dance floor the demand for the type of music reflected their presence. Though this was at the expence of some of the usual csardases but putting it on a scale, this little setback did no harm to the older generation. Maybe next time they will volunteer to bring the children into the Page 4
