August 2001 - Nr. 8
German Canadian Showcase kicks off CNE
When the media came to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition to be briefed about this year's events the German Canadian Showcase stood right upfront. No wonder, it is the opening act on the Toronto Star Band Shell, presented by toronto.com .
Of course, this is not the only feature on opening day and perhaps not even of interest to everyone, but it certainly is of interest to all of us that belong to the community so broadly referred to as the German community. The German community consists of a broad spectrum of people hailing from many countries in which German is either the main language, or one of the languages spoken, or well known as a second language due to long periods of German presence or cultural interchanges and heritage.
It has been said that the German language is the most spoken and understood language in Europe and this is probably true. In Canada it is about 10 % or 3 Million people who count themselves to the German heritage group, of which I would venture a guess that one third of them live somewhere in Ontario. (The German Canadian Congress as well as Statistic Canada can provide much more accurate figures).
This is not exactly a minority and therefore it is truly wonderful to be acknowledge thus by the Canadian National Exhibit.
For Gabi Schick who undertook the revival of this German Day
at the CNE it was a lot of work and not without disappointments. She had to
learn the hard way that not all our people pull on the same end of the rope.
But with persistence and some help and her incredible positive outlook she
put together a nicely rounded program of music and entertainment.
Local and international bands will play, a mass choir with
110 voices will sing (composed of 4 of our local choirs), there will be
dancing of various community groups on stage, including the amazing Funken
Mariechen from the Treue Husaren in Missisauga, a fashion show with Regina’s
wonderful heritage creations, German, Austrian and Swiss culture will be
focused on and in the end, before we all go home there will be draws of some
absolutely fabulous prizes, including two flight tickets to Vienna with
Austrian Air.
On the sidelines there will be exhibits of different
natures, some commercial, some cultural in nature. At 1pm we will start with
a short parade from the fountain near the Press building (nearer to the
Dufferin Gate) and the positioning of six flags and then we immediately
launch into our rich program that might have a few unexpected surprises.
Should all this not be enough for you thee is a lot to see this year at the Ex, actually too much for one day. I recommend you come back to enjoy for instance the some of the enduring favourites like the horticultural and air shows.
But nearly all venues this year have some mega live
entertainment to offer. If you have kids or grandchildren you are well
advised to come for more than one day, because this year there is a lot for
them to do other then the midway activities.
They surely will like everyone’s
favourite the Superdogs, or the World Youth Expo. There is an actual kids
day on August 20th. On Aug. 26 is 2 for 1 Sunday with Horses In
Motion and other sport activities, and…
Closer to the actual date you will find a lot more detailed
reporting in the main media about all activities. If you have access to the
Internet look it up at www.theex.com.
But whatever you do, please come and celebrate our heritage with us on Friday, August 17th, starting at 1pm. Be prepared to stay all day.
I promise that you will not starve nor be bored. Lein’s good kitchen will be there to feed you and I will be moving things right along on stage to keep you entertained.
This year the price of entry to the grounds is lower than ever. Prior to the opening day you can by tickets for 6 dollars per person. This ticket will be good for any day of the EX. So you could by your tickets for opening Day and the German Showcase and also for another day, when you want to see the rest of the fair.
Please consult the Advertisement to see where you can buy advance tickets. Otherwise general admission will be just 9 dollars, which is still a lot less expensive than the movies.
So see you at the Ex on opening day!
Until then
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
Comments to: sfr@echoworld.com
