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)

On November 18-th, 2016, our Young Artist Recitals was a resounding success. The numerous enthusiastic performers and the audience adequately proved this. The young musicians played on the piano, sang songs, and we even had a violin and a trumpet player as well. They will be happy to do it again next year, and turn this event into a tradition.

(Video by Gábor Finta)

TBT

On November 5th, 2016, Melissa-Marie Shriner visited us for the second time, and gave us an almost two hours long concert. Fragments from Gábor Finta’s recordings are here:

For this special event, the OHCC was filled up in such a great number with participants that we had to turn away the late-comers in order to avoid exceeding the the legally established limit. This phenomenon has generated ambiguous feelings in us, the organisers. On one hand, we regretted the few that had to be turned away, on the other hand, we have rejoiced in the thought that so many cared enough to ensure their participation in a timely fashion.

Our ranks was honoured by the presence of Mr. Péter Szíjjártó, Hungary’s Minister of External Affairs, Mr. Kristóf Altusz, Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Bálint Ódor, Hungarian Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Lászlo Sinka, First Secretary of the Hungarian Embassy in Canada, Mr. Péter Orosz, Consul of the Hungarian Embassy, and other staff members of the Embassy. Other guests from Ontario include Mr. János Szőke, President of the Niagara Hungarian Community Centre and companion, and from Toronto Mrs. Katalin Szabó, VP of the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada.

The festive (commemorative) address has been delivered by Mr. Péter Szíjjártó, in which he reiterated each nation’s sovereign right to decide whom it intends to accept in its midst and with whom it is willing to co-habitate (live) in the long run. He also rejected some attempts in the media to equate the 1956 Hungarian immigration with the intruding mass movement overwhelming Europe at the present time. Hungary is and will continue to be grateful to Canada to have given safe haven to 37,400 Hungarian refugees in 1956. But, as the Minister brought it into prominence, those Hungarian refugees did not developed parallel societies, waited patiently for months, sometimes years in refugee camps, were grateful and appreciative for all the help they got, and had later contributed in a substantive manner to the prosperity of Canada. A survey done in 1960, three years after the first arrival, has found only 5 families on welfare payment out the more than thirty-seven thousand.

In 1956, this small nation has shown the world time and again that it is brave enough to oppose tyrany, that no sacrifice is large enough when it has to defend its liberty and existence.
A congratulatory message from Prim-Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau, has been read by Mr. Tibor Lapohos, President of the OHCC.

From the part of the Freedom-fighters Mr. László Farkas, Mr. József Polgár, Mr. Ernő Szelepcsényi, Mr. Tibor Véghely and Mrs. Anna Mária Dupont has addressed the audience.

Mr. and Mrs. István Gaál, who recently moved to Calgary, but would so much wanted to be present at the celebration, have expressed their loyalty to their former home and community by subscribing a $5,000 donation to the OHCC. This noble gesture reinforces our commitment to uphold the ideals of 1956, for which so many had suffered and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Sometime, in the course of the evening, Mr. Béla Köntés has recited his versified chronicle of the pre- and post-1956 era.

In honour of the revolution, Ms. Éva András has assembled a collection of contemporary pamflets,newpaper cut-outs about the student’s fight and role in the events, about the evolving statements and involvement of government officials, about the stance of Hungarian intelligentsia, about the ad-hock Worker’s Councils, about the Soviet political and military deployment, about the newly formed political parties. This material was gleaned from the vast archives of the National Széchenyi Library, and it is aimed to illustrate the hopes and tragedy of the revolution, especially to those who had encountered it only in textbooks. The series will remain accessible in the OHCC.

As proof of the viability of this nation, a select cross-generational ensemble, the Csillagszeműek (Those with Starry Eyes), founded and lead by prominent Folk Dance Masters, Mr. Béla Timár and Mrs. Böske Timár, presented a phenomenal engaging performance of folk dance, from all four corners of the homeland. There was no difference in the mastery of the material and the reassurance and panache with which it was performed by the 6 years old boy or the 9 years girl, the late teenager or the young adult member. It took our breath away, and needless to say, we would love to have them back, anytime.

At the end of the evening, after father Daryold’s blessings, during the Last Post, sounded by Jessica Joanis, all those present bowed their head in memory of the fallen (heroes).

Fragments from the progam held at OHCC
(by Gábor Finta)

On September 24th this year, our community enjoyed the second play of the theatrical series whose Ontarian tour was organized by NAHC. There were 74 spectators filling up the hall with laughter while watching the lyric comedy entitled „Shirley Valentine” written by Willy Russel and translated to Hungarian by Ria Julián. The piece was directed by Zsuzsa Cserje, with Éva Vándor in the principal role. Given the nature of its subject, the theatrical play is received with much interest throughout the world. Our community was no exception, and the audience enjoyed it tremendously.