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On February the 8^th, one of the most famous US tripota events of the year was celebrated: Gardnerville, Nevada’s annual Tripota Luncheon. “We had the biggest group ever,” told Anita Izoco, vice-president of the Club, to EuskalKultura.com. Now, the Euskal Etxea is getting ready to host, next month, their ever-popular Mus Tournament.

Gardnerville, NV. “People like to come here (to Gardnerville) because they say it reminds them of the Basque Country, for the mountains…,” said Izoco. And she added: “But we also have a good reputation for the tripota.” And that’s not an overstatement, attending to the 130 plus people that enjoyed the annual Basque blood-sausage feast hosted by the Mendiko Euskalduna Kluba on February 8. “We were packed,” indicated Marie Louise Lekumberry, owner of JT, the restaurant were the attendants gathered − one of the two Basque jatetxes currently active in the area.

Some drove from as far away as Winnemucca, more than three hours Northeast, a fact that shows that the recipe by Jean Pierre Izoco –“the master of tripota makers,” in the words of Lekumberry− is getting even better. Besides the sausage, barbequed by the members themselves outside the restaurant, attendants also had soup, salad, chicken, and fries. And after the meal, there was neither music, nor dances. “Here people love to play mus; so that’s what they did,” recalled the owner of the venue.

March 21: Mus Tournament

Gardnerville’s Mus Tournament is about to turn 30 and, this year, will be celebrated on the 21^st of March, at the Carson Valley Inn Casino. “We are expecting between 60 and 70 teams, around 130 people,” said Izoco. Players from all over the state of Nevada, and even Salt Lake City, Utah, and California’s Bay Area and LA are likely to participate, stated the vice-president.

Mendiko Euskal Kluba has an agreement with the casino, so the organizers will not have to take care of the food. It will be provided by the gambling company, except for the xingarra and the txorizo, which will be made by Jean Pierre Izoco.