Look out New Orleans!

Ottawa’s Fašiangy “Mardi Gras” Party is in town!!!

Friday evening on February 12, 2010 was a magical and special night in Ottawa.  The Special Events and Youth Committee of the Ottawa Chapter (Branch 63) of the Canadian Slovak League delivered a fantastic Fašiangy “Mardi Gras” Dinner and Dance to the Ottawa Slovak Community and their friends.

With approximately 250 people in attendance and great Slovak food (Chicken Paprikas, Pork Goulash, Knedle, Sisky), this was a recipe for success. It was clear that Ottawa Slovaks wanted a party and they got one. The band Tempo delivered energetic music and did not disappoint and the dance floor was full the whole evening.

The evening comprised of fun events such as Best Mask contests and the traditional Slovak Fašiangy Hat Dance. We were fortunate to have generous sponsors for the event and we handed out some beautiful door and raffle prizes. Of course, it would not be a party without Golden Pheasant (Zlaty Bazant) beer and Slivovica, which the attendees enjoyed.

Our target for participants was 200 and we were pleasantly surprised when we exceeded that number in ticket sales. It was great to see people show up with creative masks and costumes. A good mixture of younger and older generations created a fantastic atmosphere at St. Anthony’s Soccer Club hall where the party took place. Our last Ottawa event was Oktoberfest and we had 165 tickets sold. There is a clear message to our committee that Ottawa Slovaks want to go out, socialize, dance, and have fun. The feedback was very positive from our Fašiangy “Mardi Gras” evening and participants already started asking about our next Ottawa event.

Mark your calendars for October, 2010 as we are already starting plans for our 2nd annual Ottawa Oktoberfest Party. Details will be coming soon.

Congratulations to the Special Events and Youth Committee (Jozef Mader, Anne Ladouceur, Livia Konevalova, Mary Ann Doucette, Pauline Portelance, Tibor Dej, Jana Makusova, Barbora Dej, Stanislava Rozarova) and special thanks to our special helpers (Armand Vienneau, Andrej Stolarik, Isabella Valente, Vanessa Valente, Nato Valente) for making this event a huge success! Sincere thanks to Kanadský Slovák /The Canadian Slovak newspaper for providing space to advertise our event.

Thanks for joining us at the Fašiangy “Mardi Gras” Dinner and Dance. We appreciate your support and hope to see you at the next Oktoberfest Party in October. If you would like to be included on our mailing list for events, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will include you on our master list.     

Jozef Mader, Ottawa

Photos: Tibor Dej