5/20/2006
- The Washington May Hungarian Ball - A very special
evening benefitting the Hungarian Scouts of Washington and AHF's 1956
Fund! The phenomenal New York Continental Band and a performance
by local scouts made for a very special evening. In what hopes to be
an annual revival of the famed Hungarian Ball in Washington,
the gala, black-tie affair raised funds to support the Hungarian Scouts
of Washington, D.C., and a series of events commemorating the 50th anniversary
of the 1956
Hungarian Revolution and the Hungarian historical communities living
in the countries neighboring Hungary.
AHF's
National Secretary and Ball Committee Chair, Erika Fedor, welcomed guests
and thanked the committee for the hard work in outting such a beautiful
program together. Istvan Fedor, AHF President, gave his opening remarks
and called attention to the need for unity and national representation
and AHF's proud history as the nation's oldest Hungarian-American
umbrella organization. Karoly Dan, Cultural Attache at the Hungarian
Embassy in Washington, DC, addressed the audience and read a letter
from Hungarian Ambassador Simonyi.
AHF
Assoc. President Frank Koszorus delivered a keynote address focused
on the implications of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and asked the community
to join AHF to take concrete steps in righting some of the wrongs resulting
from repurcussions against Hungarians in Rumania and elsewhere in the
Carpathian Basin
as a result of the fear that democratic revolt would spread. He specifically
called attention to: "the Rumanian government’s virtual liquidation
of the Hungarian-language Bolyai University in Rumania. Nobel
Laureates and Wolf Prize Laureates recently called upon Rumania to take
“immediate steps” to “re-establish the public Bolyai
University in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvar.” What a fitting commemoration
of 1956 righting such wrongs extending back decades would be. It
would also be a fitting tribute to the memory of thousands of unsung
heroes who did not compromise but sacrificed their lives for the cause
of liberty fifty years ago. Romania has rejected this request. Our Federation
is committed to see the end of discrimination in Romania and the respect
for human and minority rights, including autonomy. " Koszorus remarked.
AHF
Executive Committee Chair and member of AHF's 1956 Committee, Bryan
Dawson-Szilagyi, gave a presentation on upcoming AHF events across the
country related to the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the
1956 Hungarian Revolution. He called for volunteers to help ensure a
fitting 50th Jubilee. Events include:
-
May 29th, Memorial Day commemoration honoring Hungarian
American heroes at Arlintgon National Cemetery
-
October 15th Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick's Requiem
Mass in New York City
- October 20th Gala in honor of 1956 Freedom Fighters at Washington,
D.C.'s prestigious Cosmos Club.
- A 1956 Film Festival
- 1956 Memorial Statue in Washington, DC
- 1956 Memorials in Naples, FL; Lorain, and Cleveland, OH, Colorado,
and elsewhere
- 1956 Resolution effort in all US States
- AHF's 1956 Portal providing free Web pages to all AHF member organizations
to help consolidate information into one resource.
The
night included a raffle of numerous unique and valuable items (donors
can be seen in the right column) and ended with dancing the night away.
This is the first of many Hungarian Balls to come - If you would like
to serve on the AHF Ball Committee, please let us know! Contact Erika
Fedor at efedor55@cs.com
Additional Photos (click for larger image)
Photos by Bryan Dawson-Szilagyi
![The Table featuring Bobbie Kalman's new book, "Refugee Child" an autobiographical tale of the 1956 Revolution from a 9-year-old's persepective.](images/gala_2006_05_20/refugee_child_table_sm.JPG)
![Guests at the Col. Commandant Michael Kovats table](images/gala_2006_05_20/table1_sm.JPG)
![Hungarian Scouts enjoy the party](images/gala_2006_05_20/table4_sm.JPG)
![Enjoying the AHF Hungarian Ball on May 20, 2006](images/gala_2006_05_20/table7_sm.JPG)
![Üveges Tánc performers from the Hungarian Scouts of Washington](images/gala_2006_05_20/table10_sm.JPG)
![Üveges Tánc presentation of Hungarian Scouts of Washington Sári Bárczay, Krisztina Dér, Andrea Kölus, Alexandra Dér, Krisztina Kárpáthy, Emoke Tóth](images/gala_2006_05_20/uveg_tanc3_sm.JPG)
![Üveges Tánc presentation of Hungarian Scouts of Washington Sári Bárczay, Krisztina Dér, Andrea Kölus, Alexandra Dér, Krisztina Kárpáthy, Emoke Tóth](images/gala_2006_05_20/uveg_tanc6_sm.JPG)
![Diverse backgrounds, ONE community](images/gala_2006_05_20/dance15_sm.JPG)
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BÁLBIZOTTSÁG / BALL COMMITTEE
- Erika Fedor
- Irén Hogye
- Frank Koszorús Jr.
- Marianne Koszorús
- Judit Kölus
- Zsuzsa Takács
Tiszteletbeli Védnökök / Honorary
Committee
- Mr. Jules Balogh
- Rev. Imre Bertalan
- The Hon. Tom Lantos
- The Hon. Daniel W. Lipinski
- The Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter
- Leslie Megyeri, Esq.
- The Hon. Anikó Gaál Schott
- His Excellency the Ambassador of Hungary,
Dr. András Simonyi
- Mr. Steven J. Varga
- The Hon. Frank R. Wolf
AHF would like to express its sincere gratitude to the following Patrons,
Sponsors, Donors, and Raffle Sponsors whose support helped make the event
possible:
PATRONS:
Mr.& Mrs. Stefan & Erika Fedor
Mr.& Mrs. Paul Harsányi
Mr.& Mrs. Tamás Hilberth, Esq.
Mr.& Mrs. László Hogye
Mr.& Mrs. Charles Kolozsváry
Mr.& Mrs. Ákos Nagy
Mr. John Stetz
SPONSORS:
Mr. Jules Balogh
Mr. & Mrs. Attila Kocsis
Mr. & Mrs. Zoltán Körössy
Mr. & Mrs. Imre Lendvai Lintner
Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Megyeri, Esq.
Mr.& Mrs. Maximilian Teleki
Dr. & Mrs. Eugene Volker
DONORS:
Hon. Anikó Gaál Schott
Mr. László Papp
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Kárpáthy
Mr. & Mrs. Sándor Murray
RAFFLE SPONSORS:
Bobbie Kalman / Crabtree Publishing
Balazs Szabo
Craftsman Wine
Hungarian Reformed Federation
Steven Ficher and "Freedom Dance: The Movie"
Duna Television
Rev. Csaba Osváth
Gyuri Hollósy
Embassy Suites Hotel
Erika and Istvan Fedor
Arpad Gergely
Hugo Tischler
William S. Shepard
About
the Hungarian Scouts
The
Magyar Cserkészszövetség, the primary national Scouting
organization of Hungary, was founded in 1912, and became a member of the
World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1990. The coeducational Magyar
Cserkészszövetség has 7,198 members as of 2004.
Scouting
in Hungary is maintained through Magyar Cserkészet Tanácsa,
the Council of Hungarian Scouting. There are two associations in this
national federation, Magyar Cserkészszövetség, the
Hungarian Scout Association, and Magyar Cserkészcsapatok Szövetsége.
Also serving Hungarian Scouts is Magyar Cserkészlány Szövetség,
the Association of Hungarian Girl Guides.
Hungarian Scouting was founded in 1909 under Austria-Hungary, and the
first Scout group in the dual monarchy, MCA-1912 HAS, was founded in Budapest
in 1910. Scouting started in the separate nation of Hungary in 1919, at
the end of World War I, when Austria and Hungary were divided. In 1920,
the magazine Magyar Cserkész ("Hungarian Scout") was
first published.
Hungary was a founding member of the World Scout Bureau in 1922 and later
was a founding member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl
Scouts, WAGGGS, which was in fact established in Parád, Hungary,
in 1928.
In 1924, at the World Scout Jamboree in Copenhagen, Hungarian Scouts
attending their first jamboree came third in the competition of the nations,
behind British and American Scouts. They were especially good at water
sports.
The first Hungarian National Jamboree in 1926 had 10,000 participants.
Hungary hosted the fourth World Jamboree in 1933 at the royal forest of
Gödöllo, outside Budapest, in which 26,000 Scouts from 54 nations
camped together. The camp chief was Teleki Pál, the member of the
International Committee who later became Prime Minister of Hungary. This
was the first time there was a Jamboree subcamp for Scouts taking part
in aviation. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the fourth World Jamboree,
the Hungarian Scout Association hosted a fourth World Jamboree Memorial
Camp at Bélapátfalva, Hungary in 1993.
After World War II, the Külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség
started operating in the displaced persons camps in Germany and Austria
in 1948 as the Teleki Pál Scout Association, renamed in 1948 as
the Hungarian Scout Association. Scouting was well organized and popular
in Hungary until it was officially abolished by the Communist regime in
1948, but remained nascent underground... [read
more on Wikipedia]
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