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Saturday, October 3, was Sagardotegi or Ciderhouse night for the Basques in Boise. Around 190 people attended this year’s dinner, prepared, once again, by “friend and supporter, and an icon in the Basque food community” Jesus Alcelay, as expressed by Lael Uberuaga, spokeperson of the Oinkari Dancers, in a conversation with EuskalKultura.com. “It was amazing! It was very successful,” she added. The cider barrels were imported by Bereziartua, a well-known cider producer from the Basque Country.

Boise, ID. Approximately 190 cider aficionados joined this year’s Ciderhouse night in Boise, Idaho, in support of their local Basque dance group the Oinkari Dancers. “The Basque Center only has 200 seats in that room, so we were very close 

to selling out,” said Uberuaga. There were about 30 Oinkari dancers that put on the event and most of the teenager dancers served the meal, “and they did a great job.” “We heard later from guests that their servers were very attentive,” remarked Uberuaga.

The menu, a classic Sagardotegi meal, consisted of cod omelet, cod with pil-pil sauce (garlic and peppers), steak, and walnuts, cheese and quince jam. There was as much Bereziartua cider available as desired, plus a couple kegs of beer, “for the people who didn’t like cider but still wanted to attend the dinner.”

 “Sagardotegi 2015 is a fundraiser to help Oinkari Basque Dancers raise money to travel 

back to the homeland to attend workshops and perform with dance groups based in the Basque Country,” reads the dance group's website. Their plan is to go during the summer of 2016, and to do so, “we have to raise a lot of money for airfare and lodging,” said Lael Uberuaga. Profits from Sagardotegi will go directly to that trip.

There are currently around 45 full-time Oinkaris in the group, since 11 of them went to the University. There are two levels −returning dancers and first-year dancers− and two directors: Teresa Franzoia for the women and Ben Monasterio for the men. Elise Overgaard is the President of all Oinkari affairs.