User:Mmn100/Delhi Belgian Club

The Delhi Belgian Club was one of the many cultural social clubs of Delhi, Ontario, Canada that served as a social institution, function hall, and repository of ethnic history and traditions.

The main hall could accommodate 640 guests and was the largest Belgian Club in North America. Despite the name, the club mostly served Flemish immigrants who settled in Southern Ontario and was a hub for Vlamingen in de Wereld activities. The facilities were open to the general public, though shares were issued for those who wanted to support the club. One of the most popular events for the club was the yearly "Belgian Days" festivities on Belgium National Day (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. Belgian Days consisted of a bicycle race and live entertainment.

History
The Delhi Dramatic Club founded in 1943 served as the foundation for the current day Delhi Belgian Club from 1945-1946. "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".

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.

TODO: VIW Belgian student program. Reference old articles on website.

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

In Media

 * Referenced by the 2020 song "Built on Sand" by Will Carson.
 * Mentioned in Billboard

Notable Musical Performances
The club was a popular destination on the music circuit of Southern Ontario in the 1960s and 1970s. It was even mentioned in Billboard and RPM. Some of the notable acts are: • A Foot in Coldwater

• April Wine

• Bachman–Turner Overdrive

• Bill Deal and the Rhondels

• Blood, Sweat & Tears

• Bobby Curtola

• Brian Hyland

• Brutus

• Chubby Checker

• Conway Twitty

• Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

• Frankie Yankovic

• Gary U.S. Bonds

• Ian Thomas

• Jay and the Americans

• Jerry Lee Lewis

• King Bees

• Lighthouse

• Little Caesar and the Consuls

• Major Hoople's Boarding House

• Max Webster

• Moxy

• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

• Ohio Express

• Paul Anka

• Ronnie Hawkins

• Roy Orbison

• Rush

• Teegarden & Van Winkle

• The Charmaines

• The Guess Who

• The Stampeders

• Walter Ostanek

• Zon

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 different clubs for different age groups. The 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.

Other games
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. The game of wiezen played at the club is the Belgian variation named Colour Whist. Belgian feather bowling took place at one time in the downstairs of the hall. There were also traditional bowling lanes at one time. The popular games of Euchre and darts (both English and Belgian style) were also played regularly in the downstairs of the hall through the years.