Jaialdi 2010 Schedule of Events (Updated July 29, 2010)

Jaialdi 2010, Boise, Idaho

Jaialdi approaches! The biggest Basque festival in the United States, held every five years, is expected to be the largest one yet. Organizers say they expect 30,000 to 40,000 people, with many coming from the Basque Country. Attendance at Jaialdi in previous years has hovered around 25,000.

Read this story for the complete schedule of events.

View Jaialdi 2010 in a larger map
Above: Jaialdi 2010 Interactive Map. Click for location of all events.

The festivities gear up Sunday, July 25 with women’s pala championships at the Boise Fronton on Grove Street. The festival officially kicks off on Tuesday, July 27, with a welcome on the Basque Block on Grove Street in downtown Boise. The activities on the block will include food, drink and music from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m..

The Basque Block is the anchor point of Basque culture in Boise. The 600 block of Grove Street was the heart of the Basque neighborhood at its peak from the 1900s to 1920s. It was the home of the historic Anduiza boardinghouse and fronton, Uberuaga boardinghouse and at least one other small boardinghouse, all of which survive and thrive today due to the efforts of the strong Basque community that exists here.

The Uberuaga boarding house today is part of the only Basque museum in the United States. The Anduiza fronton, the oldest indoor handball court in the U.S., is kept up by the Boise Fronton Association and was recently remodeled. And the former Chico Club boardinghouse today is the Leku Ona restaurant and hotel, owned by the Artiach family. The block is also home to the Basque Center, the local Basque clubhouse that opened in 1950, Bar Gernika, a small European-style pub, and the Basque Market, a deli and store.

Boise is home to about 15,000 Basques. While California has more Basques overall, the city of Boise has the largest concentration, making it the ideal location for this huge festival, held only once every five years because that’s how long it takes to prepare for it.

The highlights for the week include dancing and eating on the Basque block, handball games at the fronton, a Sports Night at Quest Arena with professional athletes from the Basque Country and a Festa’ra dance and music spectacle, as well as dancing, sports and exhibitions all day Saturday and Sunday at the local fairgounds. Because of the limited seating at the fronton, the handball games are expected to be simulcast in the bar of the Basque Center. In addition, Patxi Lopez, president of the Basque government in Spain, will be making a presentation. And delegates from the many clubs in the North American Basque Organizations will be holding their annual convention.

En Español: La Exhibición de los Vascos de Ellis Island — Ahora en el Museo Vasco de Boise

Here is Euskal Kazeta’s schedule for the week. It will be updated with more information as it becomes available. Jaialdi.com’s schedule. En Euskera.

Sunday, July 25
11 a.m. Women’s World Pala Championships, Fronton, 619 Grove St.

Monday, July 26
10:30 a.m. Women’s World Pala Championships, Fronton, 619 Grove St.

Tuesday, July 27
10:30 a.m. Women’s World Pala Championships, Fronton, 619 Grove St.
5 – 11 p.m. Food, drink and music on the Basque Block, the 600 block of Grove Street (between 6th Street and Capitol Boulevard). Free.

Wednesday, July 28
11 a.m. Women’s World Pala Championships (Semi-finals), Fronton, 619 Grove St.
3 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. International Basque Conference, Boise State University, Interactive Learning Center, Rm 402. Lectures by some of the most prominent experts on Basque immigration. (Updated 7-26-10)
5 – 11 p.m. Food, drink and music on the Basque Block, the 600 block of Grove Street (between 6th Street and Capitol Boulevard). Free.
5 – 8 p.m. Basque band Amuma Says No at Alive at Five Concert Series, Grove Plaza
7 p.m. Women’s World Pala Championships (Consolation games), Fronton, 619 Grove St.
7 – 9 p.m. Basque Culture Conference at the Egyptian Theatre, 700 W. Main St. (208) 345-0454
Experts will discuss Basque immigration and history of Basque names
Hosted by the Basque Studies Center at Boise State University. Free.

Thursday, July 29
9 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. International Basque Conference, Boise State University, Interactive Learning Center, Rm 402. Lectures by some of the most prominent experts on Basque immigration. (Updated 7-26-10)
12:30 p.m. at the Boise Centre on the Grove, the Falcon room, 850 W. Front St.
Presentation by Lehendakari Patxi Lopez of Lagun Onari award to Basque Museum Director Patty A. Miller
Performances by Biotzetik Basque Choir, Oinkari Basque Dancers and Amaia Arberas, soloist from Donostia
Tapas & beverages will be served. Casual attire
R.S.V.P. (208) 331-5097 ext. 1 (Updated 7-27-10)
4-5 p.m. NABO Paleta Goma Semi-Finals, Class B & Class A – Fronton, 619 Grove St.
7 p.m. Sports Night at Qwest Arena, 233 S. Capitol Blvd. (near Grove Street) (208) 472-2770
Weightlifters, woodchoppers and other feats of strength like tossing bales of hay, lifting wagons and carrying milk cans.
$12 at qwestarenaidaho.com

Friday, July 30
9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Paleta Goma – women and men’s Eskuz, Women’s Baleen. Fronton, 619 Grove St.
Friday’s games to be simulcast in the Basque Center bar all day, 601 Grove St., and also streamed live on their website starting at 9 a.m. Friday.
See our article on Pilota
8:30 a.m.- 11 a.m. International Basque Conference, Boise State University, Interactive Learning Center, Rm 402. Lectures by some of the most prominent experts on Basque immigration.(Updated 7-26-10)
11:30 a.m. Friday, July 30, Press Conference, Skyline Room, 6th Floor Stueckle Sky Center, Boise State University, 1910 University Dr. (west side of Bronco Stadium).
Patxi Lopez, president of the Basque Country, joins Sona Andrews, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Boise State, at a press conference for the signing of a 2010-2015 agreement between Boise State and the Basque government. Lopez will preside over a luncheon for Basque Studies Program donors immediately following the press conference. (Updated 7-29-10)
Noon-6 p.m. Basqueing on the Basque Block
Food, drink, strolling musicians. Free.
6 p.m. World Pilota Council Women’s Pala Championship Game, Euskadi v. Argentina, Fronton, 619 Grove St.
7 p.m. Festa’ra – Cultural dance performance by Basque folk dance groups and Trey McIntyre Project, Morrison Center, 201 Cesar Chavez Lane, near So. Capitol Blvd. Boise State University
(208) 426-1609
Tickets $28, Select-a-seat/idahotickets.com

Saturday, July 31
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Basqueing at the Fairgrounds at Expo Idaho, 5610 Glenwood
Vendors, sports events, sheep wagons, food and more than 36 dance groups
from six Western states on two indoor stages
$5/adults, $3/kids, ages 2-12
Select-a-seat/idahotickets.com
7 p.m. Saturday Mass at St. John’s Cathedral, 775 N. 8th St.
Traditional San Inazio Mass celebrated in Basque with performances by both the Oñati and Oinkari dance groups. Free
9 p.m. Public Dance at Expo Idaho, 5610 Glenwood – Music by Amuma Says No and others
$10/adults, $5/kids, ages 2-12
Select-a-seat/idahotickets.com

Sunday, Aug. 1
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Basqueing at the Fairgrounds at Expo Idaho, 5610 Glenwood
More dancing, vendors, food and weight lifting. $5/adults, $3/kids, ages 2-12, Select-a-seat/idahotickets.com

Continuous:
Basque Museum and Cultural Center
Exhibits: “Hidden in Plain Site: The Basques En Español: Exhibicion de los Vascos
Basque Whaling: Danger and Daring on a Distant Shore”

Beside Bardenay
610 Grove St.
(208) 426-0538
A special exhibit entitled “Euskaldunen Pilota/The Basque Game of Pelota” will be on exhibit ” from July 27 – August 7. Created and brought to Boise by the Euskal Museoa/Museo Vasco of Bilbao, Bizkaia, the exhibit discusses the history of pilota and the unique innovation of the fronton, or front wall, introduced by the Basques into the age-old tradition of ball games.

Basque Center
Jaialdi Bar
601 Grove St.
11 a.m. – 1 a.m. Daily during Jaialdi
Handball games will be simulcast in the bar starting at Friday morning.

Basque Food:
Bar Gernika
202 South Capitol Blvd. (at Grove)
Boise, ID
(208) 344-2175

Leku Ona
117 So. 6th St.
Boise, ID
(208) 345-6665

Basque Market
68 Grove St.
(208) 433-1208

Epi’s Basque Restaurant
1115 No. Main St.
Meridian, ID
(208) 884-0412