Newsletter #2 - the Peninsula Swiss Club

PENINSULA SWISS CLUB
A social club for everyone with ties to Switzerland
Newsletter No.2 March 2016
www.PeninsulaSwissClub.com
President: Sandra Scanferla Eidam Vice President: Maja Schleicher
Join us for our next event of 2016, the Easter Celebration
on Sunday, March 27, at Shoup Park in Los Altos.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Members and Friends of the Peninsula Swiss
Club,
The Fondue Dinner, our first event of this year,
was a great success. We received lots of
compliments about the cheese fondue and I
would like to pass those on to our kitchen crew. A
big thank you to all the Committee members,
their families, and all of the other volunteer
helpers who made it possible to have such a
wonderful evening.
We welcomed lots of families and the dance floor
was full. It was so much fun to see young and old
dancing together. A big thank you to the amazing
“ZickeZacke” band.
As much as we enjoy having so many kids around,
we would like to remind you that the children can
not be without adult supervision. The venue is
not a playground and it is simply too dangerous
for the kids to play outside at any time. Thank
you for working with us to keep our events a
happy, fun, and a safe place for everyone.
Our next event will be very kids-friendly with
a playground on-site and a visit from the
Easter Bunny. I look very much forward to
seeing you at the Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch
in the Garden House at Shoup Park, Los Altos.
Herzliche Grüsse
Sandra Scanferla Eidam
President
A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER
Helen Schoch
2016 PSC CALENDAR OF EVENTS
IN MEMORIAM
Our longtime member Robert (Bob) Peter
passed away on February 4, 2016.
He will be dearly missed. Our condolences go out
to his wife Margaret, his family, and friends.
We also send our condolences to the Evers family
and friends. Heidi Evers passed away in
December 2015 following her husband, Joe Evers,
who died just a month earlier. They will be greatly
missed.
We would like to thank the Evers family for the
generous donation of beautiful Swiss glassware
and traditional clothes. We are looking forward
to using them for the tombola in November.
Easter
March 27
Shoup Park, Los Altos
Semi Annual June 5
Stevens Creek County Park
1st of August July 30
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Los Altos
Wine Tasting TBD
Metzgete
November 5
Masonic Hall, Mountain View
Samichlaus
December 4
Shoup Park, Los Altos
2016 PSC Committee
President
Sandra Scanferla Eidam
sandra.scanferla@gmail.com
1-408-348-6911
Vice President
Maja Schleicher
majajoos@gmail.com
1-408-559-8939
Secretary
Barbara Schricker
barb@schricker.ch
Treasurer
Monika La Grill
monikapsc1@gmail.com
Event Photos
Peter Thoeny
peter09@thoeny.org
Program Chairs
Michael Klocker
michael.k.klocker@gmail.com
Assistant Program Chairs
Walter Gyger
walt@tradewindsaviation.com
Irma Stalder
irma@irmastalder.com
Membership Chair
Maya Gyger
mayagyger@yahoo.com
Editor
Monika Ryser
psc@rysers.org
Assistant Editor
Nadja Kurmann
nadja.kurmann@gmail.com
Webmaster
Claudio Bui
cgbui@comcast.net
USS Delegates
Anna Ralston
annaralston@att.net
Erich Sonnberger
erich@peninsulahappynest.com
SWISS CULTURAL EVENTS IN THE BAY AREA
Film
March 11, 2016, 7:00 pm
Swiss Movie Night for the entire family
Sponsored by the Swiss Cultural Committee
see details on page 3
March 12, 2016, 7:00 pm
San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival
SILA and the Gatekeepers of the Arctic at SFIOFF
Fort Mason, Herbst Pavillion/Cowell Theater,
2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco
The documentary SILA and the Gatekeepers of the Arctic by
Swiss filmmaker Corina Gamma explores the Greenlandic
concept of Sila, a multifaceted term that encompasses
weather, consciousness and the universe in a transforming
environment. The film was nominated for the "Prix de
Soleure" at the Solothurn Film Festival in 2016.
Music
March 31, 2016, from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Concert: Swiss Jazz at Francophonie
Alliance Française de San Francisco
1345 Bush Street, San Francisco
In collaboration with Alliance Française de San Francisco, the
Consulate General of Switzerland presents a jazz concert
featuring Swiss vocalist Beat Kaestli and his French language
songs to celebrate the month of Francophonie. With his new
CD project Collage, Beat Kaestli continues to explore the
creative sources and forces which make his music both
totally unique and universally appealing at the same time.
Admission: by donation (max. $20).
Appetizers and Swiss wine will be served.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jazz-concert-with-swissvocalist-beat-kaestli-tickets-21742308831
Visual Art
Sylvie Serex-Bonnet
March 4 to May 2, 2016
Lireille Gallery, 3980 Piedmont Ave, Oakland
Swiss painter Sylvie Serex-Bonnet exhibits her work at Lireille
Gallery in Oakland. Her abstract paintings explore the mysterious
and secret worlds of womanhood. She uses acrylic, silk threads,
sand, and other materials gathered in her travels to give her
paintings dimension and grace.
Peninsula Swiss Club Fondue Dinner
By Markus Fromherz und Heike Schmitz
When we came from Switzerland to the Bay Area more than twenty years ago,
we kept in close touch with Swiss friends, both here and in the home country,
but otherwise we decided to become locals. That meant local food, local
schools, and local clubs. This was perhaps not a big sacrifice in the Bay Area,
which is as international as it gets, but we still wanted to really embed
ourselves and our kids in the local culture. In recent years, though, we have
loosened our stance. We may have gotten perhaps a bit nostalgic, but we
especially missed the kind of community feeling, expressed in so many clubs
and events back home, that our constantly changing and rapidly evolving
Silicon Valley has a hard time providing.
So imagine our delight when we discovered the Peninsula Swiss Club and its
annual Fondue Dinner! At the surface, it was a gathering of about 170 Swiss
expatriates and their friends in Mountain View’s Masonic Hall, having fondue
together. And the Club (with over 25 helpers) does a fantastic job at putting this
dinner together. The cheese mix was excellent, specially imported from
Switzerland and expertly prepared. There was wine, including Swiss wine,
salads, and a delicious dessert. The fondue seemed practically bottomless, as it
kept coming as long as we were eating!
But this event was so much more than just a communal dinner. The community
spirit was evident from the moment we were greeted and invited to join others
at a table. Everyone was very friendly. We had nice conversations. Adults and
children mingled freely. We made new friends. What contributed most to the
fantastic atmosphere, though, was the music. Just like I remember from plenty
of annual village events when I grew up, a music band played throughout the
dinner and then on for a while. And, in contrast to many locals, people got up
and danced! The aptly named Zicke Zacke Band provided great fun with a mix
of songs and tunes that invited everyone to get up and get moving.
It was evident that many volunteers were contributing to organizing and
running the Fondue Dinner. They seemed to have great fun, and we would like
to thank everyone for their hard work. This will surely have been one of the
highlights of this year for us.
Congratulations to
Hanna and Walter Howald
on being featured in “The Villages”
magazine and also in the “Evergreen
Times” newspaper.
Walter and Hanna do not only grate 100 pounds
of cheese every year for the PSC Fondue, Walter
also bakes and donates the “Züpfe” for our
Samichlaus Brunch. Next to the work for the
PSC, he is very active all year long with baking
and creating. For the San Jose Bijan Bakery for
example, he creates a Gingerbread Village that is
displayed in the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The
Lugano Swiss Bistro also displays a Gingerbread
village made by Walter.
Next time you see Walter and Hanna,
say hello and thank them for all the
work they do for the community. They
have many interesting stories to tell.
HDR Photos by Peter Thoeny
Order beautiful prints
at Quality HDR Photography
http://qualityhdr.com
WEGMAN’S NURSERY
Inspiring Gardeners Since 1960
492 Woodside Road, Redwood City
650-368-5903
Personalized Service, Open 7 Days A Week at 8 AM
SHRUBS, ROSES, PERENNIALS, TREES, SOD, POTTERY, ORGANICS
BEDDING PLANTS, HOUSE PLANTS, VEGETABLES, GIFTWARE
www.wegmansnursery.com
follow us on facebook
The Society supports sick, elderly
and lonely individuals of Swiss
descent and helps younger
generation Swiss pay for higher
education expenses through their
scholarship program. All
contributions are tax deductible.
456 Montgomery Street, Suite 1500
San Francisco, CA 94104-1233
www.sbssf.org
BECOME A MEMBER
PSC Membership Registration for 2016
Sign up online at: http://www.PeninsulaSwissClub.com/contact.html
Or fill out form below, make check payable to Peninsula Swiss Club and mail to:
Maya Gyger, 10165 Vicksburg Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014
Check one box:
Individual Membership: $25
Family Membership: $30
Member Name(s):
Children’s Names and ages if applicable:
Address:
City, Zip Code, State:
Phone Number(s):
Email(s):
New Member
Renewal
How did you find out about our club?
Change of Address
PENINSULA SWISS CLUB
P.O. Box 272
Los Altos, CA 94023-0272
A Publication of the PENINSULA SWISS CLUB
A Social Club For Everyone With Ties To Switzerland