![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Jaialdi-2010-SportsNight-Aizkolari.jpg\" "\\"Jaialdi-2010-SportsNight-Aizkolari\\"")
<\/a>We didn’t make it to every event but we did our best.\u00a0 We started with Sports Night, on Thursday.\u00a0 I went with my brother, my dad, and Antonio and Eli.\u00a0 It was held right down town, across the street from the Basque Block in the same arena that the Boise hockey team plays in.\u00a0 It was laid out with logs for the aizkolariak<\/em> and stones for the harrijasotzaileak,<\/em> as well as some other typical events.\u00a0 Most I’d seen before, but there were a few, such as the relay carrying the heavy sack, that I did not.\u00a0 One event, in which contestants try to pitch a bale of hay over a bar that is raised with each successful toss, was new to my uncle.\u00a0 He had never seen that event in Bizkaia. At one point, two harrijasotzaileak <\/a>“competed” with one another, each carrying a 100 lb stone around the arena.\u00a0 One had to quit quickly, possibly having pulled something.\u00a0 The other, though, hammed it up, engaging the crowd as he stood there, holding this huge stone in his lap.\u00a0 When the night was over, children rushed into the arena, finding wood chips for the athletes to sign.<\/p>\nIt was an interesting perspective, watching these events in this crowd.\u00a0 On one side, I had my uncle, who is as much of a sports fan as any.\u00a0 However, one thing you don’t realize as a Basque-American watching these sports, which we see only every so often in typically heavy doses, is that in the Basque Country, this is every day stuff.\u00a0 As such, they don’t have such concentrated showings of it; festivals might have a few sporting exhibitions, but not hours worth.\u00a0 My uncle was getting a little bored with it, though he of course got into it whenever things got exciting.\u00a0 On my other side were some non-Basques who I guess had thought they’d check out some local color or something.\u00a0 It was interesting and a bit odd hearing their commentary.\u00a0 They sort of mocked what they saw, commenting on how simplistic the sporting events were, comparing them to the “sophistication” of American sports.\u00a0 It showed they didn’t have much of a true idea of On Friday, after attending NABO’s Annual Convention at which the New Mexico Euskal Etxea was officially accepted as a member, we headed to the Basque Block to check out the festivities.\u00a0 And it was completely packed, from one end of the block to the other!\u00a0 I must imagine that this was the best attended Jaialdi to date!\u00a0 There were so many people that it was difficult to maneuver through the crowd.\u00a0 It was that way Thursday night as well, though during the day, the heat added a level of discomfort.\u00a0 But, people were singing, dancing, drinking and eating — generally having a wonderful time.\u00a0 Again, I wondered about the demographics of the crowd.\u00a0 It felt like there were just as many people who maybe had no Basque ties but were looking for a good way to spend the weekend.\u00a0 This is a testament to the reputation of the Basques in Boise.<\/p>\n After that, all of my official duties were over, so I just enjoyed Jaialdi as much as I could.\u00a0 My family joined me when they were able, and overall we had a wonderful time. This year, the vendor booths were moved inside to escape the heat and that was a superb change.\u00a0 I remember last time that the heat (it reached 100 every day) and the wind kicking up the dirt at the fair grounds sometimes made being outside a bit unpleasant.\u00a0 By moving the vendors indoors, they made that part much better than it had been.\u00a0 A number of friends were manning booths, so it was great chatting with them, especially a few who I had only known before via Internet, not in person.<\/a>what the Basque Country is about and how this is one slice of the sporting scene in the Basque Country, maybe somewhat analogous to a rodeo in the US West.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>During the weekend, especially during the day, festivities moved to the Fair Grounds.\u00a0 The official opening ceremonies were on Saturday morning and, as a representative of NMEE, I was asked to carry the New Mexico flag in the procession.\u00a0 While waiting for things to start, I was able to wander a little behind the scenes, where the various dance groups were organizing themselves.\u00a0 While adults shepherded children and tried to get them lined up in some semblance of an order, some of the groups did last minute practices of their dances.\u00a0 Compared to when I was a kid doing these dances, there were a lot more groups with a lot more different costumes.\u00a0 Especially noticeable were the girls’ dressed in blue, in contrast to the typical red, black, and white.\u00a0 The opening ceremonies tried to bring together all of the groups who were to perfo<\/a>rm over the weekend, including the Klika from Chino, a number of groups from the Basque Country, and of course all of the dance groups from the US.\u00a0 It was an awesome beginning to the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n