The Netherlands Bazaar is a biennial charity event in Toronto, organized to collect funds to help needy people of Dutch extraction. It is also a good opportunity to learn more about an important and often invisible part of Canadian society.
When my dear friends Ann and Rimmer told me they would "pick me up" at my place Saturday morning, I was intrigued. I wasn't disappointed, as it turns out that we were heading for the "Netherlands Bazaar," a biennial charity event.
When talking about Canada and immigration, very few people ever think of the Netherlands. Immigration from the Netherlands has indeed always been rather small, from a mere 25 in 1900 to a peak of around 20,000 a year from 1950-1954, and back down to around 1,000 a year in the '90s.
The Dutch are also among the immigrants who have achieved near-perfect assimilation in Canadian society, making them virtually invisible. In Europe, the Dutch have a reputation of openness and tolerance, since many centuries. During the reformation and Counter-reformation, when Christianity nearly destroyed the entire continent, many influential thinkers found refuge in the Netherlands, considered by many to be a safe haven for intellectuals. It seems logical to assume that their tendency to tolerance and openness has helped them a lot integrating in this country.
Yet, in spite of their relative invisibility, they have had - and their descendants continue to have - a very important influence on the country, especially where agriculture and horticulture are concerned. To this day, most important names in this business are Dutch names.
The Netherlands Bazaar, a more than 50-year-old tradition, is organized once every two years. Its goal is to collect money to help needy people of Dutch extraction. All the money needed comes from this one-day event and from donations throughout the two years that precede it.
With the money, the organization buys food parcels that are distributed in December, to give these people a joyful Christmas. Over the past two years, they distributed more than 850 parcels, while 200 children were send to summer camp.
This year, the Bazaar took place in the Thornhill Community Centre, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Goods of all types that had been donated by the community were sold by volunteers.
There were, predictably, wooden shoes, and plush, wooden-shoe shaped slippers, all types of trinkets in
delftware, and also Dutch books, woodwork, knitwear...
The three restaurants, where typical Dutch foods were served, were chock-full. Guests could enjoy such Dutch delicacies as
erwtensoep met kluif,
kroket and
poffertjes.
The grocery stands also carried various types of typical Dutch foods. There was, of course, the world-famous Dutch cheese, but also
beschuit, cakes and pies, even
drop.
The killer, for me, was the possibility to eat
maatjes, a true delicacy and one of the very rare things I miss from Europe.
In all, the Netherlands Bazaar was a splendid opportunity to glimpse into one of the less conspicuous cultures that make up Canada's rich multicultural fabric.
