Annual Basque picnic slated for this Saturday

Traditional Basque dancers bow down as the Basque homeland flag is waved above them.

People from Mountain Home and surrounding communities will relive the traditions, culture and language of the Basque people during its annual festival here Saturday.

The 53rd Annual Basque Picnic will begin that afternoon at the pelota, or outdoor racquetball court, in the city's Basque Park next to the Bengeochea Hotel.

This year's celebration begins with a Catholic Mass at 1 p.m. at the park. Local Basques plan the yearly celebrations around the birthday of St. San Ignacio, the patron saint of Basques.

This year's festival will feature a traditional Basque feast from 2-8 p.m. Featuring lamb, rice and red beans, people can order the entire dinner or selected meal items. Throughout the afternoon, those attending also may order drinks as well as chorizo -- a traditional Basque sausage. On average, people eat more than 500 pounds of the ethnic treat during each picnic, organizers said.

As a way to pass along the Basque culture to their children, organizers will host a series of games for the youngsters starting at 5 p.m. Scheduled events include corn and sack races and a tug-of-war.

The evening's entertainment continues at 8 p.m. with a performance by the Oinkari Dantza Taldea. Based in Boise, the dance group features several people from the local area. A live band takes the stage from 9 p.m. to midnight to wrap up this year's festivities.

Each year, members from the Euskal Lagunak organization, the local Basque group, come together to plan and run the festival. The representatives include Basques from Elmore, Owyhee and Ada counties.

About 800 Basques live in the Mountain Home community.

Home to one of the world's oldest democracies, the Basques include approximately 3 million people living in a region about the size of Rhode Island nestled between France and Spain.

The first Basques immigrated to the United States around 1860 and became the first people to fish for cod off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland with others settling in places like California. Economic woes in their homeland prompted many more to come to America between 1890 and 1900 with the first Basques coming to Mountain Home around 1910, the Basque historian said. For years, local Basques made their living herding sheep and cows.