Hungaria Social Club celebrated its 90th anniversary in Montréal. The club was founded by the first Hungarians who arrived to Montréal as they tried to rely heavily on one another and wanted to keep their identity and build a community. They decided to establish a centre where Hungarians, regardless of their religion, could gather, socialize and spend their free time together.
Interesting fact about the Club that it used to own a soccer team that won the Canadian championship in 1957. The financial situation of the Club was not always stable, but thanks to the donations of the members, the financial problems could be solved, and now the Club operates in its own building in downtown Montréal.
More than 100 people, including members and guests, gathered here to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the organization, on November 12th. Tibor Kelemen, president of the Hungaria Social Club and the Hungarian Committee of Montréal opened the event with a welcoming speech followed by Ilona Szima’s review of the 90 years of rich history of the Club.
Then, father Szabolcs Licskó catholic priest greeted the guests and opened the dinner with a prayer. After the delicious three course meal, singer Anna Peller of Hungary took the stage and performed an operetta and dance songs to delight the audience. The talented artist is a winner of the Voice of Hungary award as her voice can overlap 4 full octaves enabling her of an exceptionally wide repertoire of songs. The evening continued with the long awaited raffle when 12 happy winners could receive their basketful of surprises.
After the raffle, the band V-Romas from Vancouver (Botos Flórián, Kalányos Tamás and Lakatos Zoltán) took the stage and played a mixture of dynamic retro and mulatós songs inviting people to the dance floor. The party continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Photos of the events are available here.
Dorka Kornélia Takácsy, KCSP program, Montreál