Kern County Basque Festival 2022 – Basques Talk about the Best Part of Being Basque

Young+Basques+in+their+costumes+at+the+Kern+County+Basque+Festival+2022

Young Basques in their costumes at the Kern County Basque Festival 2022.

Nancy Zubiri

The Kern County Basque Club held its annual festival on May 28 and 29 after a two-year hiatus because of the Covid pandemic. The festival was well attended and while the weather was in the high 90s, it was still tolerable (for Bakersfield!) and everyone enjoyed the dancing and klika performances in the afternoon. Four handball players from the Basque Country came and played both Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Kern County Basque Club’s handball court. A special guest, folk singer Mikel Urdangarin, played during the festival on Saturday.

Euskal Kazeta interviewed Basques in the crowd about their favorite aspect of being Basque and got some enjoyable answers. The top answer from guests was the sense of community they feel when attending Basque events like the Bakersfield festival. Watch our video for more.