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Sunday, October the 19^th will be picnic day for all the members and friends of the Lagun Onak Basque Club of Las Vegas, Nevada. “We’re a small club and the picnic is very humble but we have so much fun,” Beristain tells Euskalkultura.com. The picnic will be hold at the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park with easy ingredients: Basque music, food and drink, dances, mus... and good old and new friends and a great atmosphere!

Las Vegas, NV. The club was created 31 years ago but, due to some financial problems, these good friends (lagun onak means good friends in Basque) did not celebrate the picnic for some years. “We used to have a bigger picnic but there were so many expenses that we decided to stop,” explained Beristain. “So, after a few years with no picnic at all we started organizing it again. We’re a small club and the picnic is very humble but we have so much fun.”

Amaya is the daughter of  Jose Mari Beristain, president of the club and former jai-alai player. She is in charge of the celebration. “Spring Mountain State Park is a very nice place, with tables, grills, and fields for the kids. And October is the best month to come to Las Vegas, it’s been too hot before, that’s why we celebrate the picnic now. Everybody will bring something to drink and something for dessert and Jabi and Goiko will be cooking,” she explains.

Jesus Goiko Goikoetxea and Jabier Jabi Yarza will be the cooks. They will prepare salad, txorizo, ribs, and paella as the main course. Jose Mari Beristain is who buys the txorizo from the West Coast, as the organizer explaines. Attendees will also enjoy two performances by dancers from the Chino Basque Club: the first one before the meal and the second one right after it. And the day will come to an end with some hands of mus.

Beristain expects eighty people that will be there from noon to 5:00 p.m., more or less. Tickets are $20 per person and $5 for kids 12 and under.