|
A Celebration of all things Welsh in Chicago |
|
|
Welsh Heritage Fest, Saturday, October 14th (see photos) On a sunny October Saturday Chicago area Welsh folk and lovers of Wales gathered to celebrate the 2nd annual Welsh Heritage Fest sponsored by the Cambrian Benevolent Society. The event was held in the spacious and beautifully appointed Fifth Province room of the Irish American Heritage Center at 4626 North Knox Avenue in Chicago. From 11:15 until 12:30 the crowd was entranced by the lively foot-stepping of the Fermilab International Folk dancers from Batavia, Illinois. Much to the delight of onlookers, Mady Newfield, the group leader, then invited them to join in and learn a Welsh folk dance. Cambrian Board member Janet Walquist later led fair goers through the steps of the 'Horned Ram' and other favorites. In the afternoon we were entertained with familiar Welsh songs and melodies played by a group of musicians from Madison, Wisconsin; Danny Proud on guitar, Mike Briggs on piano and Dave Mullen playing the fiddle. Danny also taught a beginning Welsh class for those who were interested in learning how to pronounce such tongue twisters as 'diolch yn fawr' and 'prynhawn da'. Children thoroughly enjoyed the craft corner run by Board member, Connie Bloom, who provided a selection of bookmarks, door hangers and sheep cutouts, and y Draig Goch for them to color and decorate. Nadim Rana and Sarah Vera enticed kids big and small to take a chance at 'Pin the tail on the dragon' and tossing rings over bottles of Ty Nant water. There was a fine selection of Welsh lovespoons, brasses, CDs of Welsh music and unusual gifts for sale at the booth of The Rampant Lion from Villa Park, Illinois. Dave Parry of The Chicago Tafia offered samples of Abergavenny cheeses and Ty Nant water at his table along with brochures and information about Wales. Cambrian Board President, Gwilym Williams, encouraged people to help themselves to handouts from the Wales Tourist Board and to buy Tenby daffodil bulbs to plant in their Midwest gardens. Sandy Stanicek of the Women's Welsh Club manned the refreshment table where there was a constant supply of freshly made tea to accompany the selection of Welsh cakes, sandwiches and slices of quiche. The delicious and unusual varieties of Welsh cakes were donated by Mike Browne of the inFamous Welsh Cookie Company who drove down from Alma, Michigan to participate in our event. At his booth he had an even more impressive selection of flavors including apricot/almond, apple/walnut, and pumpkin spice. The interesting array of raffle prizes, including a Welsh doll, a length of Welsh tweed, and a Cymru baseball hat, attracted a good deal of attention as did the Grand Prize basket of Welsh foods and gifts which included 2 Welsh CDs (Bryn Terfel and Crasdant), a bottle of Penderyn whisky, Halen Mon sea salt and a large chunk of Red Dragon cheese. By the end of the afternoon Cambrian Society Vice-President Barbara Jones commented that it was gratifying to see so many young families and new faces eager to enjoy the good fellowship of such an event. As with many other small ethnic groups the struggle to engage and retain membership is an ongoing challenge. Cymru am byth!
Dilys Rana
(Report prepared for Ninnau, Welsh American newspaper; www.ninnau.com)
|
