Eurofest BC

For almost 10 years now, this annual celebration of European culture has been taking place at the Scandinavian Cultural Center. The event lasts from 10am through 1am on the last Saturday of May. This year it was held on May 27th, although next year it will take place on the 31st.

At Eurofest BC, countries are often interchanged due to whatever reason they may drop out after a year of participation. My own country, Croatia, has taken part in the festival for almost a decade! Croatia participates in most of the options available, including a food table, where they sell traditional items as part of the European food court, the live performance, in which the main show is Kolo dancing and occasionally a Tamburica band, and lastly the National tent, in which countries showcase plenty of goods special to his own.

I was surprised to hear Russia would not take part in the festival this year, it is unclear though as to whether or not this was a finance issue. Sources have told me that each country must pay $100 per table, and thus if Croatia wanted to include a Vendor's booth next year, their total would come to $400! However, as this is a "non-profit" organization, I'm still having trouble believing there are numbers involved.

Slovakia made a great reappearance to the party this year by including a performance by the famous Jozef Ivaska! While the friend who tagged along with me thought his act was hysterical, I found it to be incredibly entertaining! He even came out to romance some of the lucky ladies sitting in front row.

The European Festival prides itself in being "15 hours of family fun", but what happens when its time for bed? I'm sure most parents wouldn't dare take their children to a place of drunk Slovenians and Scandinavians alike! The evening dance or "night party" as I like to call it, begins at 8pm and in all of my three years attending this event, not one has impressed me! In 2005 the dance band there to entertain us was Slovakia's "Hurhaj". The group was made up of two members decked out in traditional wear; a man and a woman. While her Muz tapped out a drum rhythm and played his guitar, she did exactly the same! This is definitely not what I expected for a party of European adults, not seniors, young adults!

In 2006, Eurofest BC likely had its best band ever! Three Row Barley, who originates in Dublin, Ireland, outplayed every performance within the 10 hours dedicated to live music! The only downfall of this group was the number of breaks they took. I know they're Irish, but to spend all night at the pub is ridiculous!

Following 2006, I saw a bright light when I checked out the organization's website to discover that a "dance band" would be playing this year. Funny though, as Surefire was from Canada and not a single member from Europe. This was evident in their choice of music as country ended up being the theme for 07'! I ended up staying until midnight, not by choice, but rather because I couldn't get a ride to take me out of this karaoke hell. I had no idea Shania Twain was the devil in charge!

I could go on and on as to how terrible 2007's night party was, but instead I'll end this note with a number of suggestions, the first being choice of music. I'm not sure if the heads in charge of Eurofest BC forgot to have an audition for the band playing this year, or if they didn't attend it. Regardless of what took place prior to the festival, something modern should be considered!

Currently the hottest club scenes in Europe are in both the Czech and Swiss Republics. The group that attends these clubs is almost if not exactly the same as those who attend the later parties at the European festival! So, why not combine the best of both worlds? Following the "family fun fair" I'm sure all members of the European commity have noticed a major drop off in small children when it comes to the night scene. In 10 years, I'd be shocked if they hadn't! Instead of priding themselves in having a live band, why not have a great DJ playing European dance hits? I'm more than sure this would keep everyone on the dance floor, or atleast awake.

A song from Sweden, a song from Estonia, a song from Bosnia and Hercegovina! Can you imagine the response? After all, if Hurhaj who sings only Slovak traditional music could play only their language I'm sure European folks wouldn't have a problem to hearing 36 different languages with atleast one being in their native tongue!

To end this peice off, why not emulate what brings so many young adults to our Europe? A great party! Showcasing tradition is always a beauty, but combining an event that appeals to even the modern crowd would definately make for something ideal!