On behalf of director Marić CHF executive secretary Mašala Perković presented HKUD Fala president Bukovac a CHF letter of commendation to mark the group’s fortieth year and for its work in nurturing and developing Croatian cultural heritage in the European Year of Cultural Heritage.
The Fala Croatian Culture and Arts Society (HKUD Fala) of the Swiss town of Schaffhausen was founded in 1978 and is the oldest Croatian association in the Swiss Confederation. The group’s fortieth anniversary was celebrated on the 8th of September with an event staged at a packed Reckensaal hall in Thayngen, featuring a lavish entertainment programme that aimed to spotlight the long history of this association.
The celebration also aimed to express the group’s gratitude to all those whose efforts have contributed to the association’s work and existence—without them HKUD Fala would never have reached this major milestone. The programme was financially supported and held under the patronage of the State Office for Croats Abroad. The culture and arts programme opened with the Croatian national anthem. The programme MCs, moderating the event in both Croatian and German, greeted the event’s guests of honour: the deputy to the state secretary at the State Office for Croats Abroad Ms Ivana Perkušić and the special advisor for Croatian emigrant communities Ms Draženka Arar, the Croatian general consul in Zurich Mr Slobodan Mikac, Croatian Heritage Foundation executive secretary Ms Diana Mašala Perković and the head of the office of the CHF director Ms Lana Šaš. A special mention went out to Peter Neukomm, the mayor of Schaffhausen, and his wife Ruža Studer, a member of the Croatian Government’s advisory council on Croats abroad and the long time president of the Fala Croatian Culture and Arts Society, and to all the gathered friends and enthusiasts of the wealth of Croatian traditional culture in Switzerland’s intercultural society.
The event programme continued with a folklore review. Performing were the children’s section of HKUD Fala, three Croatian folklore ensembles from Germany (the Dijaskorak folklore ensemble of Offenbach, the Tamburica folklore ensemble of Esslingen and the Klas Culture and Arts Society of Ravensburg), the Kolovrat Croatian Culture and Arts Society of Luzern in Switzerland and the Korenica Croatian Culture and Arts Society from Croatia. The first half of the event closed with a performance by the host organisation HKUD Fala.
On hand to provide entertainment during the drinks and refreshment break was the Ekipa tamburitza ensemble, which regularly accompanies HKUD Fala in their performances.
The second half of the event programme opened with a screening of a documentary film about the Fala Croatian Culture and Arts Society, covering the entire period from its founding to the present day. This was followed by greetings from the guests of honour Ivana Perkušić on behalf of the State Office for Croats Abroad, Slobodan Mikac on behalf of the Croatian general consulate in Zurich, Diana Mašala Perković on behalf of CHF director Mijo Marić, Ruža Studer on behalf of the Croatian Government’s advisory council on Croats abroad, and Schaffhausen mayor Peter Neukomm.
Diana Mašala Perković presented HKUD Fala president Dražen Bukovac a CHF letter of commendation to mark the group’s fortieth year and for its work in nurturing and developing Croatian cultural heritage in the European Year of Cultural Heritage. On hand to provide light entertainment into the late hours was Schaffhausen’s own Quattro Band.
HKUD Fala president Bukovac presented certificates of appreciation to all the event sponsors, the leaders of the visiting ensembles and honoured members of the Fala Croatian Culture and Arts Society for their work and dedication.
See the photo gallery at: https://moja-domovina.net/2018/09/10/obiljezena-40-godisnjica-hkud-a-fala/
By: Diana Mašala Perković
