2011 is here… and that means another Fašiangy (Mardi Gras) dinner and dance party in Ottawa! Food, live music, hat dances and prizes all in one night! Walking into the big hall at the St. Anthony Soccer Club, this time on a Saturday evening of February 12th, and seeing all the beautiful red decorations, already this year’s party was looking even better than the last. The tables were decorated with red napkins, chocolates, rose-shaped lollipops and multi-coloured masks. The Slovak flag matched nicely in the background as well.About 180 people attended. With the hall having a capacity of around 400 people, this made it nice and spacious. And it’s a good thing we didn’t have 400 people as the dance floor gets packed every year! Tempo knows how to draw in a crowd. Their most victorious moment was when they began to play the Slovak gypsy song “Julia, Julia”. Boy did they catch everyone’s attention! I think that was my favourite part of the night and they did a great job in learning that song. The music they played had a lot of variety. There was even some “hip” music for the young people during the breaks.
Everyone just looked so good out there and they were all having lots of fun. There was one couple that stood out because they were dancing amazing ballroom and Latin dances. Their Tango in particular was breathtaking. For myself, this was a great opportunity to practice my dancing skills as well, as minimal as they are! This couple was quite an inspiration.
For dinner, we had a buffet of chicken paprikas, potato dumplings with creamed goat cheese (bryndza), pork stir-fry and assorted pastries. Golden Pheasant beer, Slivovica and wine were also available to purchase. There were plenty of raffle prizes thanks to all our sponsors. If I had won the “Morning Walk” painting, that would have been my second favourite part of the night. It would have filled a vacant wall of mine perfectly! I guess I’ll have to settle for my second favourite part to be the end of the night, when all the singing started! Tempo, you have competition! Once everyone had drunk and eaten and were danced out, all that was left was to sing traditional Slovak songs to complete the night.
A special thank you goes to the Special Events and Youth Activities Committee of the Ottawa Branch of the Canadian Slovak League for all the time and effort they put into this event. Also, a special thank you goes out to all of our other helpers. You know who you are. And thank you to everyone who joined us at the Mardi Gras party. It was you who made the atmosphere memorable and we hope to see you again next year!
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Cheers!
Barbora Dej
Chair, Special Events and Youth Activities Committee
CSL Branch 63, Ottawa
Photos: Tibor Dej
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