Loud cheers sound out and twirling bodies everywhere. A packed danced floor has everyone moving and yelling at once. This was my first experience at the Basque Center in Boise during one of the many festivals being held on a Saturday. Young and old are up on the dance floor doing traditional dances to traditional songs. As a first timer of course I looked ridiculous trying to keep up with the moves and this got a lot of chuckles from everyone. Even with all the laughter, it was all in good fun because everyone was there to have a good time, celebrate life, and converse for hours. It is like a home away from home and I knew this was a place that I could go to that wasn’t different than my home and work. Although Oldenburg discusses that
…show more content…
Third places are nothing more than informal public gathering places. The phrase ‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our work places the ‘second” (Oldenburg 42) The Basque Center has had decades of history as “third” place in Boise. If you go to the official Basque Block website you can find the pertinent information:
Built in the late 1940's as a social club and gathering place, the Basque Center has played an important role in the history of the Basques here. It's used for dance practices for both the Oinkari Basque Dancers and the Boise'ko Gasteak Dancers. In the afternoon it's not unusual to find some of the older Basques meeting there to drink coffee, converse, and maybe play some Mus, a Basque card game. The building is also rented for wedding receptions and dinners (The Basque Block).
The Basque Center has a main event center with a bar off to the side. Unlike the event center, the bar is open during the week and weekend. Furthermore, the Basque Center has some recognition in …show more content…
He mentioned a few specific ones. The first was when he first started working at the Basque Center and one of the oldest patrons there instantly became friends with him. Levi said the old patron at first gave him a hard time, but then started sharing some of his life stories. Levi could not believe what all the man had been through throughout his life experiences. He talked about growing up on a sheep farm and having to herd sheep all over the forests in Idaho. The old man was a veteran who was a tail gunner in WWII. Levi described a deep feeling of respect for what all the old patron had experienced. The second experience Levi had was when he went to his first Basque festival at the Basque Center. He said at first he felt out of place with all of the different dances going on and loud music. Even with all of this happening, everyone was so friendly and wanting to know more about him. Levi said after that night he felt right at home and that everyone was a friend even though they just met. Another important question that I asked Levi was how he felt about the overall amount of third places in the US. As Oldenburg said there is a steep decline of third places in the US because of the increasing amount of suburbs being built far distances away from cities. Levi agreed with this statement saying that just in Boise alone there was a lack of third places for people
Third places are nothing more than informal public gathering places. The phrase ‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our work places the ‘second” (Oldenburg 42) The Basque Center has had decades of history as “third” place in Boise. If you go to the official Basque Block website you can find the pertinent information:
Built in the late 1940's as a social club and gathering place, the Basque Center has played an important role in the history of the Basques here. It's used for dance practices for both the Oinkari Basque Dancers and the Boise'ko Gasteak Dancers. In the afternoon it's not unusual to find some of the older Basques meeting there to drink coffee, converse, and maybe play some Mus, a Basque card game. The building is also rented for wedding receptions and dinners (The Basque Block).
The Basque Center has a main event center with a bar off to the side. Unlike the event center, the bar is open during the week and weekend. Furthermore, the Basque Center has some recognition in …show more content…
He mentioned a few specific ones. The first was when he first started working at the Basque Center and one of the oldest patrons there instantly became friends with him. Levi said the old patron at first gave him a hard time, but then started sharing some of his life stories. Levi could not believe what all the man had been through throughout his life experiences. He talked about growing up on a sheep farm and having to herd sheep all over the forests in Idaho. The old man was a veteran who was a tail gunner in WWII. Levi described a deep feeling of respect for what all the old patron had experienced. The second experience Levi had was when he went to his first Basque festival at the Basque Center. He said at first he felt out of place with all of the different dances going on and loud music. Even with all of this happening, everyone was so friendly and wanting to know more about him. Levi said after that night he felt right at home and that everyone was a friend even though they just met. Another important question that I asked Levi was how he felt about the overall amount of third places in the US. As Oldenburg said there is a steep decline of third places in the US because of the increasing amount of suburbs being built far distances away from cities. Levi agreed with this statement saying that just in Boise alone there was a lack of third places for people