On the Day of National Unity the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre opened its Trianon exhibition. The tableaues on display were provided by the Hungarian Trianon Museum of Várpalota.

The 31 pictures explained the reasons, consequences of the tragic events of the peace treaty. On the first day there were more than sixty people visiting the exhibition.

After the viewing the participants were shown the film prepared by the participants of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor program and the video made by Tibor Lapohos at the Hungarian Calvary in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary.

(Video by Gábor Finta)

On Mothers’ Day this year, the duo of László Váray and Tamás Valastyán earned great success in the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre. The audience received the program with enthusiasm and occasionally even took active part in it. This surprised but at the same time touched the performers – as they mentioned it at the end of the evening. The songs of László Váray are meant primarily for children but the adults also appreciated the linguistic resourcefulness of the poems.

(Video by Gábor Finta and Tibor Fasanga)

On May 7th, 2017 the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre celebrated Mother’s day according to the Hungarian calendar. The students of the Hungarian School, music students and scouts gave thanks to mothers and grandmothers in front of a full house. After a great dinner (prepared by the fathers) the evening concluded with a very enjoyable concert given by two artists from Hungary, the “Belvárosi Betyárok”. You will be able to watch their performance here as well as soon as they finish their Canadian concert tour.

(Video by Bea, Gábor Finta and Tibor Fasanga)

Saturday evening we have witnessed a great performance in the Hungarian Community Centre. Géza Benkő made us reflect but also gave us opportunity to laugh. Many of us can remember the forced relocation of our parents – grandparents from the Highlands – I am among those. Tens of thousands of Hungarians were forced to leave their homeland with only 50 kgs of their belongings. They were deprived of not only their life savings but also their human dignity. It is sad that the perpetrators never apologized for this. The Benes doctrines are in force ever since. The tragedy is always present in the performance but through the glass of humor it seems less serious than it was in reality. Nevertheless, the one-person drama makes us think and at the same time glues us to our seats. The performance of Géza Benkő fascinates the audience. I have not heard such an entertaining and also saddening production for a long time.

(Video by Gábor Finta, audio by István Koleszár)

On March 17, 2017 the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre celebrated the 169^th anniversary of the 1848 revolution. The audience filled completely the house where the Hungarian School and music students paid tribute to the memory of the heroes of the revolution. The guest speaker was Dr. Bálint Ódor, ambassador of the Republic of Hungary. Dr. Lapohos Tibor read excerpts from Sándor Petőfi’s Memoires and Károly Dombi spoke about the the influence of the events on the literary world. The enjoyable evening concluded with a tasty supper.

(Video by Bea Finta)

On March 4^th we had the pleasure to see Egmont Ouveture, a podium program presented by the 8kor Színház (8 PM Theatre) group from Sárospatak, Hungary, in honour of the 60^th anniversary of the revolution and fight for freedom of Hungary in 1956. Against the fairly cold weather, there were was a half-full house enjoying a great meal and then the show.

(Video by Gábor Finta)

On February 25^th there were 92 of us having a good time spoiling our taste buds, laughing and dancing.

(Video by Gábor Finta)

This weekend at the OHCC has been overtaken by Euterpe and Calliope, in a feast of spoken song and poetry. Due respect has been paid to Attila József, one of the emblematic poets of 20^th Century Hungarian Literature. The performer, Mr. Péter Lóránt Tóth, proved to be the quintessential modern-day interpreter of a worthy poet that has defined an era in our literature.

It was a memorable, beautiful evening!

He will be welcomed back, any time, with open arms!

(Video recordings by Gábor Finta and István Koleszár)

On January 14, the OHCC had the pleasure of hosting a piano recital for four hands presented by one of the prominent Hungarian representatives of the genre, the husband-and-wife team of Mr. Zsolt Farkas and Ms. Andrea Várnagy.

The program was built on substantial works by Franz Liszt , garnished by fitting achievements of Schubert, Grieg, Ravel and Noonan. Commented on by the artists themselves, the program has wisely addressed all segments of the audience in an absorbing presentation. The performers had displayed complete mastery of the keyboard and had full command of the different styles, as well. The The piano payer couple possessed the panache of seasoned performers, and they would always be welcomed back in Ottawa. Liszt is probably smiling with content, and he’s proud of them.

Our community received the couple’s concert-gift with a standing ovation, and we would like to thank it again.

P.S. The second child of the Farkas-Várnagy couple, Lili Farkas, is making her parents extremely proud. In 2016, she won three international piano competitions, the last one being the Vivo Youth competition in New York, in November. Some times Lili joins her parents and performs along with them, which must be an uplifting feeling for everyone, both performers and audience. We would be extremely happy to host such a concert!

Béla Köntés

(Video recordings by Gábor Finta)

It is an old tradition of the Hungarian Community Center that we invite Santa Claus to meet our children. They were making Christmas tree decorations and cookies while waiting for Santa’s arrival. The delicious „doughnuts (fánk)” – baked by Gizike Moldován and Ildikó Mukli – also seemed to shorten the waiting time. Santa talked kindly to the young ones and distributed presents among them. The family-oriented afternoon ended with the children folk-dancing happily.

(Video by Gábor Finta)