Fourth Annual Hungarian Festival – HunFest – in Glendale (English)

1. Negyedik Magyar Fesztivál – Hunfest – Glendale-ben (beszámoló magyarul)
2. Fourth Annual Hungarian Festival – HunFest – in Glendale (English)

For the fourth year now, we held our Hungarian Festival, HunFest, in Glendale, on the lawn around the Soleri amphitheater. The festival was a success, where everyone had a great time. This year, we welcomed three well-known groups of musicians, whose performances elevated the event to a whole new level.

The students of our Napocska school performed as well, starting the show with Hungarian children’s songs and dances.

Noémi Sárog returned in our midst, this time with her musician friends, Lorenzo on drums and Riccardo on the keyboard. They entertained us with an extensive repertoire of retro and contemporary Hungarian songs from the 1960s to today.

Fészer Band from New York brought traditional old Hungarian folk songs and several dances. The enthusiastic band tries to cultivate and pass on the musical traditions of Hungarian folk culture by preserving the original sound. Their performance was authentic  and entertaining.

The local band Traveler with lead singer and violinist Scott Jeffers also performed at our festival. They brought us several songs Scott wrote while traveling through Transylvania, inspired by the sounds of the deep forests.

Our guests sampled traditional Hungarian dishes and pastries while enjoying a beautiful day in the desert.

Children had the opportunity to learn about old Hungarian customs, have fun in a traditional yurt, while learning about our nomad ancestors from Szilvia Bartha of Turul Culture. In addition, they had fun with lots of games.

Our festival is not only for Hungarian audiences but also for everyone interested in Hungarian culture. People of all ethnicities who knew little about our culture got to uderstand us better, while our Hungarian community of Phoenix enjoyed spending time together.

Thank you to everyone who came, our volunteers, musicians, sponsors, and vendors! See you next year!

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