OHCC RTV
Hungarians on the Earth’s Eight-Thousanders
Did you know that the Himalayas have 14 peaks exceeding 8 000 meters? ( That’s 26 246.719 feet above sea-level for the metrically challenged.) And that 12 of them fly the Hungarian flag, fluttering in the wind for the angels to see?
Two members of the larger expeditionary team that accomplished this feat, Mr. Lajos Kollár and Mr. László Mécs, have honoured with their presence the OHCC on February 28, sharing with us, via a slide-presentation and dicussions, the details of their 10 years pursuit.
Between 2003 and 2013 they have lived through stellar successes (they have conquered 12 summits) and tragic losses (let me mention only the latest: two team members were lost; one of them, admittedly, while turning back to help the other. Only one body has been recovered). More often than not, they have used the unbeaten path on their approach, but what they were definitely admired for in the mountaineering community, is that they were “purists”, i.e. no oxygen bottles, and no sherpas for load-carrying on final approach. Needless to say, this mountaineering style requires superior physical and mental training, stamina, endurance and determination. The most successful of the expeditionary team was Erőss Zsolt (the first Hungarian to conquer Csomulungma), who perished with a team-mate on their descent from the 10th summit in 2013.
After the nearly two hours long presentation the questions did not seem to abate. The participants have got answers regarding the technical details (minutiae) of the expedition, about the timetable of the preparations, about future plans and prospects, about the mental and physical attributes of a successful mountaineer.
It was an uplifting evening and we thank everyone who participated. Special thanks to the volunteers!
The Barricades of 1956
The first episode of our series entitled “Barricades of 1956” contains a moment of the lives of László Farkas and József Polgár, both members of our community.
We thank them both for sharing their stories with us.
Melissa-Marie Shreiner and Gábor Finta: Arias and Songs
We just witnessed an unforgettable program.
Mardi Grass Ball
The OHCC’s Mardi Gras masquarade held on January 30, 2016, was a complete success in that, beside the served-up tasty bites and merriment, we were able to raise funds for a worthy cause: the language training of Hungarian children that are subjected to forced assimilation practices in Moldova (present-day Romania), where they live by no fault of their own. These people are called the “Csángós” and form integral part of the Hungarian nation.
We had the pleasure and priviledge to host a young man, Krisztián (Feraru) Kovács, who hails from that region, just east of Transylvania, and who is a product of several programs that reinforce the sense of belonging to the Hungarian nation in those children.
He presented a short program of authentic Csángó folk-songs on flute, accompanied on lute by Mr. Szabolcs Szilágyi, followed by a sequence of Csángó dance-music tunes that received an enthusiastic response from the audience, many jumping on the floor and dancing away.
After the concert, the public has enjoyed a comedy sketch performed by Messrs. Béla Köntés, Gábor Steiner, Szabolcs Szilágyi, and Ms. Judith Polgár.
Shortly before the „soirée dansante” began, the costumes and masks have been appraised and rewarded. Across generations, people have doned clever and witty costumes. We had amongst us Ninja turtles, a Rubik’s cube, a Unicorn, a Stick-man, a Hammer and Nail duo, and Princess Leia, who did not want to part with her Oscar statuette. Among the costumed crowd, there were six families, each member wearing a disguise. Kudos to them!
Thanks go to the volunteers, and to the guests, who made this evening a memorable one!