HUNGARIAN HARVEST DANCE 2002

 (Left: Harvest Dancers, 2002)
Our annual Hungarian Harvest Dance and Dinner on Saturday, October 5th was a huge success! The activities, which took place at the American Legion Hall on Hwy. 43 near Springfield, started at noon when a Hungarian-style dinner, consisting of cabbage rolls (töltött káposzta), cucumber salad, kolbász, bread and pastries (kiflik and kalács) was served.  Életfa, a Hungarian folk music group from New York provided the musical entertainment throughout the afternoon and early evening. Several activities and folk demonstrations took place during the course of the afternoon. Margaret Resetar demonstrated to onlookers the proper way to make cabbage rolls, while Paul Bates showed the crowd how to make butter. Irene and Helen Good demonstrated how to make csöröge, while Helen Nyeki showed onlookers how to make Hungarian-style homemade noodles. Pauline Frisbee showed how palacsinta is  made and George Lezu provided entertainment by telling stories of the “life in the old days” of Hungarian Settlement. Irene Demars did face painting for the children, while members of the Életfa group provided lessons for those interested in learning some Hungarian dances. Throughout the afternoon and evening, a food booth provided plenty of cabbage rolls, kolbász (a type of Hungarian sausage), and cabbage noodles for those interested in having a taste of Hungarian-style foods.  Olde World Bakery offered a booth with Hungarian pastries and other items. At 7:00 P.M., Karpathy, the Baton Rouge international folk dancers, led by Vonnie Brown, performed a series of Hungarian folk dances. At 8:00 P.M., the traditional Hungarian Harvest Dance, led by Sue Nyeki Martin began. Beneath a canopy of fruit and vines and dressed in white costumes decorated in red, white and green, the Harvest Dancers performed traditional dances that have been passed down through four generations in the community. Musical entertainment after the Harvest Dancers’ performance was provided by the Boudin Band, which specializes in Cajun music.
 
A SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS YEARS’ CELEBRATION A SUCCESS!! EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS GOES TO THE HARVEST DANCE COMMITTEE WHO WORKED SO HARD TO PREPARE FOR IT!!
The framed memorial poem dedicated to David Arceneaux and Betsy King held a prominent place on a table at the entrance of the American Legion Hall where all the activities of the Harvest Dance Celebration took place. Thank you, Betty Jean Gill for composing the beautiful words that honored David and Betty and deeply touched our hearts. Here is a copy of those beautiful words dedicated to David and Betsy:

 HUNGARIAN HARVEST DANCERS WITHBATON ROUGE INTERNATIONALO FOLK DANCERS AND ÉLETFA FOLK MUSIC ENSEMBLE, 2002

PERFORMING WITH BATON ROUGE INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCERS, 2002