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Vurpar Overview

Welcoming Horsemen

Trasura

Flags

People

Army Band

Welcoming Comitee

Just outside of Vurpar we were welcomed by six mounted riders, each dressed in the traditional clothes of the area. They were surrounding a carriage harnessed to two mares, each mare tethered to a colt. Group leaders Simon Dragan and Jim Cameron were invited to ride the carriage into town, quite an honor. The horsemen lead at a trot, boys on bicycle and kids jogging along the berm followed the entourage. A large bus with soldiers passed. People waved from the fields. The bus driver appropriately put on a tape of Romanian folk music to complete the remarkable scene.

When we arrived at the Camin, the town recreation and meeting hall, almost the entire town had turned out to greet us. As we spilled from the bus we could see the Romanian and USA flags flying proudly and we could hear a band playing Romanian folk music and German marches. Women dressed in the traditional black and white of Transilvania offered us the age-old welcome of salt and bread. Vurpar’s mayor, Michael Lienerth, read a proclamation and Dolly, a student translated his words over the din of the army band. That’s Lion Ron Hinshaw to the right, grinning to the beat of the band.

Ceremonies	Hora

For the next forty minutes we participated in the welcoming ceremonies, took a few hundred pictures, shot video, shook hands with old friends, and enjoyed what Vurpar had done in our honor. We were all a bit overwhelmed.