Boys: Tamas Salaman, Alex Lukas, Ian Beister, Weston Krause, Matthew, James, Akos Choinski, and Zalan Salaman
Girls: Rachel Woods, Saraiah Evans, Annika Burney, Reagan McNamara, Frances Wolkensperg, Carolyn Bourgeois, Jenna Bernath, Kaili Brooks, and Avery McNamara
The 2019 Hungarian Arts Club’s annual White Rose Ball Feb. 2 at the Dearborn Inn was a true family affair.
First, one of the college scholarships winners, Tamas Salaman, is the eldest son of the ball’s honorary chairs, Andrea and Jozsef Salaman. Second, that same scholarship winner and his younger brother, Zalan Salaman, were escorts this year. And thirdly, the Wolkensperg family, hosted a family reunion by having family members come from several states and Canada to see their debutants introduced.
The formal ball introduces young Hungarian ladies into society, and awards a college scholarship to a student of Hungarian descent studying fine arts.
This year’s debutants were :
• Annika Burney from Sterling Heights, who attends the Great Lakes Cyber Academy.
• Avery McNamara, attends Stoney Creek High School and enjoys competitive cheerleading, and soccer.
• Saraiah Evans, from Noblesville, Ind. She attends Fishers High School, and enjoys track, working on the yearbook and photography.
• Jenna Bernath from Riverside Calif., where she attends Martin Luther King High School. She enjoys track, softball, and baseball.
• Frances Wolkensperg, from Elora, Ontario, Canada. She attends Centre Wellington District High School where she is on the honor roll. She also enjoys hockey, soccer and volleyball.
• Carolyn Bourgeois from Thibodaux, La. She attends Thibodaux High, School where she enjoys gymnastics, hunting, and fishing.
The ball’s escorts this year were Alek Lukacs, Tamas Salaman, Zalan Salaman, Weston Krause, Ian Bejster and Akos Choinski.
The ball’s extra dancers were: Rachel Woods, Kaili Brooks, and Reagan McNamara.
The club’s 2019 Scholarship winners were Tamas Salaman and Bryan Szabo.
Tamas, a senior at Flat Rock High School, has been playing the violin since he was 7, and Hungarian Folk dancing since he was 6. He performed a violin piece at the ball which was very well received and enjoyed by all the attendees.
Szabo was born in Romania and in 2004 moved to Michigan. He attends University of Michigan-Dearborn and has been playing the euphonium and trumpet for eight years. He is working toward dual degrees in electrical engineering and applied music.
The Wolkensperg family had three debutants introduced this year: Bourgeois, Bernath and Wolkensperg. The family has a long White Rose Ball tradition starting with an escort in 1959, and the first Wolkensperg debutant in 1961. In the 61 years of White Rose Ball history, over 20 Wolkensperg family members have been either a debutant or an escort.