Delhi Belgian Club
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| Delhi Belgian Club | |
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| Formation | 1948 |
| Type | Social club |
| Location | 360 James Street North Delhi, Ontario, Canada |
| President | Marc Vanden Bussche |
| Website | http://www.belgianhall.ca/ |
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The Delhi Belgian Club is one of the many cultural social clubs of Delhi, Ontario that serves as a social institution, banquet facility, and repository of ethnic history and traditions. [1] The main hall can accommodate 640 guests and is the largest Belgian Club in North America[2]. The facilities are open to the public and popular for weddings, banquets, parties, and other club-hosted events. The executive of the club consists of a president, secretary, and number of directors which are nominated by the shareholders.
The Ladies Auxiliary is a group of women that organize their own events at the hall and contribute to its improvement. Such events include fashion shows, brunches, craft shows, and yard sales.
One of the most popular events for the club is the yearly "Belgian Days" festivities to celebrate Belgium National Day on July 21 to commemorate the day on which Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took the constitutional oath as the first King of the newly-formed independent state of Belgium in 1831. Bicycle races, archery shoots, dinners, dances, and Belgian foods such as waffles and Oliebollen are just some of the attractions for the "Belgian Days" weekend.
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[edit] History
The Delhi Dramatic Club founded in 1943 served as the foundation for the current day Delhi Belgian Club from 1945-1946 [3].
"At present, there are four major Belgian clubs in Canada. Two were organized near the turn of the century in Montreal and Saint Boniface; the other two were established after World War II in Delhi and Sabrevois [Quebec]. In 1948 the tobacco-belt Belgians felt the need for a clubhouse in Delhi for their social, recreational, and cultural activities. The club became the focal point for the traditional bicycle races, pigeon races, and Belgian bowling and pole-archery tournaments". [4]
All four of these Belgian Clubs served the entire community and were never segregated communities due to the relatively rapid integration of Belgians into mainstream society. [4] With the regular events hosted at the club, it eventually made Delhi a social centre for the entire area. [3]
[edit] 50th Anniversary
In June 1998, for the clubs 50th anniversary, a gala dinner was held to celebrate and the hall was a "packed house".[2]
[edit] Visit from Prince Philippe
During the same year, the Prince Philippe of Belgium and his entourage of ambassadors, aides, and security came to the hall and met with 500 people in attendance. On his visit he toured the kitchen and took a couple of shots at the archery range.[2]
[edit] The Flemish Emigrant
"The Flemish Emigrant" (De Vlaamse Emigrant (Dutch)), a statue created by artist Patrick Steen of Leke, Belgium, was unveiled at the hall on April 3, 2005. "This sculpture represents everything that emigrants had to face when coming to North America." said Gaston Geysens, the president of the club at the time. A private campaign was setup by researchers of Flemish emigration to North America, Ludwig and Doreen Vandenbussche (also of Leke, Belgium), in order to raise funds to have the artwork created. "The sculpture depicts a family waiting on the Rijnpier in Antwerp, Belgium, waiting to board a ship from the Red Star Line. The father has a suitcase, while the mother with her bonnet carries a small child on her hip. A boy stands off to the side with a bag, while girl stands to the other side with another bag."[5] The bronzed sculpture is made of recycled materials and measures 1.55 x 0.90 x 1.5 metres and weighs in at 150 kilograms. The artwork is a symbol that those who emigrated from Belgium to North America haven't been forgotten. [6]
[edit] Sports and Games
Various sports and games of Belgian origin have taken place at the hall at some time.
[edit] Archery
Indoor horizontal popinjay archery in the downstairs of the hall consists of three clubs:
- Delhi Belgian Archery Club – shooting Wednesday nights from 8pm to 10:30pm
- Delhi Archery Club – shooting Saturday nights from 8pm to 10:30pm
- Delhi Sunday Family Archery Club – shooting Sunday afternoons from 2pm – 4:30pm with an emphasis on shooting for families and children
The clubs participate in three annual tournaments against other clubs, namely the International, National, and tri-county tournaments. Within the clubs there is a yearly competition to determine the king and queen for the adults or the prince and princess for the children. These trophies along with the others are presented at the annual archery banquet that is held in the banquet hall of the Belgian Club with dinner and a dance.
[edit] Euchre
The popular card game of Euchre is played downstairs at regular meetings.
[edit] Darts
The dart club meets regularly in the downstairs of the hall.
[edit] Wholi-board (aka Belgian Horseshoes)
Wholi-board is a game similar to horseshoes consisting of three holes ranked from one to three points. Participants throw washers and try to get them in one of the three holes to reach an exact score of 21 points to win. Going over 21 points causes your team to lose points.
[edit] Wiezen
The game of wiezen played at the club is the Belgian variation named Colour Whist.
[edit] Belgian Bowling
Belgian bowling took place at one time in the downstairs of the hall. This game is no longer offered at the club but many people have fond memories of the game.
[edit] References
- ^ DELHI: A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY, Norfolk County: Delhi Innovation Team, 2005, pp. 48, <http://www.norfolkcounty.on.ca/Contribute/doingbusiness/documents/REPORTfinaldraft.pdf>
- ^ a b c Barrett, Toby (1998-12-17), Transcript of Debates. Issue number: L072A, Toronto, ON: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, <http://www.ontla.on.ca/house-proceedings/transcripts/files_html/1998-12-17_L072A.htm#P319_113298>
- ^ a b Magee, Joan (1987). The Belgians in Ontario: A History. Dundurn Press Ltd.. ISBN 1550020145. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
- ^ a b Jaenen, Cornelius J. (1999). "Belgians", in Paul Robert Magocsi: Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples (html), University of Toronto Press, 257-270. ISBN 0802029388. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
- ^ Hartlen, Vicki (2005-03-24), “Artwork is special to Delhi Belgian Hall”, Delhi News-Record (Bowes Publishers), <http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=302&x=story&xid=151016>. Retrieved on 30 July 2007
- ^ Hartlen, Vicki (2005-04-28), “Sculpture unveiled at Belgian Hall”, Delhi News-Record (Bowes Publishers), <http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=302&x=story&xid=157612>. Retrieved on 30 July 2007
[edit] External links
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