by Márton Huszár
One of the most important events of the year for the István Fekete scout troop 45 was the Scout Dinner.
The program was preceded by long preparation and organization, both scouts and scout friends helped with their full strength and creativity in the planning and preliminary work so that everything was successful and smooth.
The symbol of the dinner was the tulip, and its slogan was “It’s here again!”. The slogan was a hope and a hint that maybe we can finally put the difficult years caused by the pandemic behind us, the community can celebrate together again, and that spring has arrived after the gray and surprisingly icy winter.
On March 24, the guests were warmly welcomed by the wonderful table decorations, the tulip with the scout lily as a souvenir pin of the dinner, and all the scouts.
At the beginning of the event, the scouts ceremoniously brought in the Hungarian, American, and the troop flags. Troop commander Csaba Orbán opened the program with his usual short but cheerful speech, greeting the attendees and the guest of honor of the dinner, Ilona Szablya.
During my long scouting career, such a celebration was still able to show something new. It is my experience that in many cases the joy of scouts can be limitless. That’s how it was now. The members of the troop prepared a funny performance and now we finally showed the audience what a real scout campfire is like. Of course, we didn’t light a real fire on site, but we adapted to the Washington weather and imitated a campfire indoors. We raised the mood by singing and playing, involving the audience, and each age group prepared a short scene about their camp experiences. It filled me with joy that I could stand among them as a member of scout troop 45.
The Hungarian community, which is always active in the joint Hungarian program, did not disappoint this time either. While we were waiting for the roasted pig in the garden to be ready, cheerful conversation and children’s laughter filled the room, which didn’t stop even when dinner was served. The band, the Puget SoundZ also contributed to the fun and provided the dance music for the evening.
The success of the Csodakút Auction was welcomed by the community, but they also bid generously at the silent auction locally, and many returned home richer with a decorative traditional Hungarian waterskin or a beautiful painting.
I feel, and maybe I’m not alone, that it was a very successful and beautiful celebration and a worthy return after years affected by the epidemic. The organizers and their assistants did a fantastic job preparing and conducting the event, but our guests brought the good mood and atmosphere. Everyone who participated in the program felt fantastic.
Thanks for letting me be a part of it!
