Delhi Belgian Club

Infobox Organization
name = Delhi Belgian Club


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formation = 1948
type = Social club
headquarters =
location = 360 James Street North
Delhi, Ontario, Canada
membership =
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leader_title = President
leader_name = Marc Vanden Bussche
key_people =
num_staff =
budget =
website = http://www.belgianhall.ca/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. Citation
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first2 =
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editor-last =
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editor2-last =
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contribution =
contribution-url =
title =DELHI: A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY
year = 2005
pages =48
place = Norfolk County
publisher = Delhi Innovation Team
url =http://www.norfolkcounty.on.ca/Contribute/doingbusiness/documents/REPORTfinaldraft.pdf ] The main hall can accommodate 640 guests and is the largest Belgian Club in North AmericaCitation
last = Barrett
first = Toby
author-link = Toby Barrett
publisher = Legislative Assembly of Ontario
title= Transcript of Debates. Issue number: L072A
date = 1998-12-17
year = 1998
place = Toronto, ON
url = http://www.ontla.on.ca/house-proceedings/transcripts/files_html/1998-12-17_L072A.htm#P319_113298
accessdate = ] . 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.

History

The Delhi Dramatic Club founded in 1943 served as the foundation for the current day Delhi Belgian Club from 1945-1946 cite book
last = Magee
first = Joan
authorlink =
title = The Belgians in Ontario: A History
publisher = Dundurn Press Ltd.
year = 1987
isbn = 1550020145
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=Y6OR-Z9yVE8C
format =
accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] .

"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".cite book
last = Jaenen
first = Cornelius J.
authorlink = Cornelius J. Jaenen
editor = Paul Robert Magocsi
title = Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
chapter = Belgians
publisher = University of Toronto Press
year = 1999
isbn = 0802029388
url = http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/belgians.html
format = html
pages = 257-270
accessdate = 2007-07-30 ]

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. With the regular events hosted at the club, it eventually made Delhi a social centre for the entire area.

50^th Anniversary

In June 1998, for the clubs 50th anniversary, a gala dinner was held to celebrate and the hall was a "packed house".

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.

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."Citation
last =Hartlen
first =Vicki
title = Artwork is special to Delhi Belgian Hall
newspaper = Delhi News-Record
publisher=Bowes Publishers
date = 2005-03-24
url = http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=302&x=story&xid=151016
accessdate= 2007-07-30 ] 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. Citation
last =Hartlen
first =Vicki
title = Sculpture unveiled at Belgian Hall
newspaper = Delhi News-Record
publisher=Bowes Publishers
date = 2005-04-28
url = http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=302&x=story&xid=157612
accessdate= 2007-07-30 ]

Sports and Games

Various sports and games of Belgian origin have taken place at the hall at some time.

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 childrenThe 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.

Euchre

The popular card game of Euchre is played downstairs at regular meetings.

Darts

The dart club meets regularly in the downstairs of the hall.

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.

Wiezen

The game of wiezen played at the club is the Belgian variation named Colour Whist.

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.

References

External links

* [http://www.belgianhall.ca Delhi Belgian Hall Official Website]