When the weather forecast turns out to be incorrect, people tend to complain about how often the weather man gets it wrong. But there are times when folks are glad the weather report wasn’t right. The ninth annual Samba Party in McCormick Park on August 11th serves as a good example.
The event was hosted by The Hintonburg Economic Development Committee and featured performances by members of Samba Ottawa; but it almost didn’t take place.
There was a severe thunderstorm watch that day which generated a volley of phone calls between members of HEDC and Samba Ottawa. However, the decision was made to go ahead with the event. By the end, one of the organizers, Lorrie Marlow, expressed happiness that the thing wasn’t called off.
As the crowd started to gather, the sky was clear. As they waited for Samba Ottawa to arrive, they were entertained by the HB-Breakers – four Hintonburg youths between the ages of five and 12 years old.
The crowd cheered as the boys showed off their break-dance moves.
Meanwhile, members of Samba Ottawa assembled in the parking lot beside the Connaught Public School. Someone started warming up with a bit of drumming. The crowd in McCormick Park heard it and got excited.
A couple of minutes went by. Finally, the full sound of samba music could be heard approaching in the distance. Drums, whistles, tamborims, shakers, and agogo bells blended together to produce the unique Afro-Latin rhythm.
Lead by founder Mike Atyeo, members of Samba Ottawa marched the sort distance to McCormick Park under a police escort. For the next 90 minutes, the sounds of samba filled the air around the park and the lively beat made the crowd dance. Even during the intermission Samba Ottawa continued to engage the crowd by allowing people, children in particular, to try the instruments.
Atyeo said he got involved with samba music when he lived in England. He loved it. When he moved to Canada, he brought that love of samba with him. He said he raved about it to friends and they convinced him to introduce them to the music.
He started out with a very small group at first. But in 2000, he decided to start what is now Ottawa’s only samba school. He explained there about 12 samba schools across Canada, mostly in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
But he tries to model Samba Ottawa after samba schools in Brazil. There are about 25 members currently, but Atyeo said that number can vary. He pointed out that none of the members are professional musicians and that he had to learn to play all the samba instruments so he could teach others.
He also said samba has two main attributes: performing and community. Samba Ottawa plays many gigs of various types throughout the year and some members are attracted to the group because of its social aspect. Atyeo also mentioned that Samba Ottawa has performed at several events put on by HEDC to raise funds for projects in the Hintonburg community.
This event raised a modest $212.00 for the HEDC fund for youth programming and the Connaught school breakfast program. For more information about Samba Ottawa or about their new beginners’ course, visit their web site at www.samba-ottawa.org.
Posted on October 18, 2009
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