"Documenting the life of the Hungarian community in New Zealand"
- Az új-zélandi magyar közösség lapja.
The establishment of the European Forum actually came about as a result of a very successful European Fair organised by an enthusiastic group of European Wellingtonians some twelve years ago. The dozen or so nations' community members, who donned national costumes and cooked ethnic foods for locals to sample, decided that local European strength lies in numbers and soon after that they formed the European Forum under the leadership of Paul Szentirmay, consul for Hungary.
A couple of years later a similar European Fair was held but on a larger scale. So when it came to celebrating the enlargement of the European Union (EU) last year, some members of the Forum had ample experience to call on. The EU enlargement celebrations – the exhibition of posters at Wellington Central Library, the European Food Week at the Duxton Hotel and the Fair at Frank Kitts Park were so well received that it was decided to make celebrations of Europe Day, 9 May, a regular feature on Wellington's calendar of events.
Like last year's celebrations, EuroFest 2005 will also include three main events: an Exhibition of posters about Europe at Wellington Central Library from 1 to 15 May, a European Food Week at the Duxton Hotel from 9 to 14 May, and the EuroFest festival proper at Shed 11, Queens Wharf, on Saturday, 14 May.
This year over 15 embassies (including Hungary) will be represented at Shed 11 and about 12 European communities (also including the Hungarian contingent) will have stands. Cultural performances of music and dancing will be on view not just throughout the day at Shed 11, but through the preceding week at the Duxton Hotel. One of EuroFest 2005's special features will be a "cartoon corner" with a DVD of European cartoons being compiled by the New Zealand Film Archive especially for the occasion, which will screen continuously for the duration of the festival from 10am to 5pm.
Similarly to last year, the festival is made possible through the generous support and sponsorship of Wellington Waterfront. EuroFest 2005 – which will be opened by Wellington's mayor Kerry Prendergast - has in addition won the generous support of two exclusive sponsors, Lufthansa and Porsche, who will both be represented on the day.
Part of Lufthansa's sponsorship package includes 2 return economy class tickets to Europe enabling EuroFest organisers to hold a lottery, which is also supported with prizes donated by the European Food Week hosts: the Duxton Hotel, Kirckaldie & Stains department store, Maria Pia's restaurant and the Leuven bar and grill. (Tickets ($5) can be ordered via email: euroforum@gmail.com or fax (04) 9737509.) The prizes will be drawn on 14 May, at Shed 11 at 4pm , and will be notified in the Dominion Post on 16 May 2005.
There is one other thing to watch out for at Shed 11 that will particularly interest soccer fans and anyone thinking about going to any World Cup 2006 matches in Germany. If you're in Wellington come along and find out for yourself! If not, then why not plan a weekend in Wellington on 14-15 May and visit our beautiful Magyar Millennium Park while you're at it! Klara Szentirmay, Convenor, European Forum