17.- Elko, Ely and Battle Mountain

17.1 NATIONAL BASQUE FESTIVAL
Elko is the largest city in northeast Nevada and is one hundred and ninety kilometers from Winnemucca. Its Basque club is made up of three hundred members and is represented in nearly all the city's guilds and activities. In Elko the Basque phenomenon is something palpable, perhaps especially in early July, on the occasion of its National Basque Festival, which celebrates in 2003 its 40th anniversary. Basque names and expressions are part of daily life. The Mayor's family speaks Euskara, and abides by Basque traditions at home. In its city park Elko has the only active pelota court to be found in Nevada today, built by the Basque community in 1975. Until then the city had other courts and a wealth of hotels and ostatuak. The latter, adapting to the demands of changing times, are today a mark of identity, a token of what Elko has to offer its visitors.

17.2 NORTHEASTERN MUSEUM
Like those in other towns in Nevada, Elko's Basque hotels, today restaurants, are at the forefront in its distinctive assets. The oldest is the Star Hotel, founded in 1910 by Pete and Mathilda Jauregui, today run by the Leonis and Lazcano families. It continues to serve meals in the traditional Basque style. Other restaurants include the Biltoki, the Nevada Dinner House, and the Toki Ona. On Idaho Street, Anacabe's Elko General Merchandise is a store selling Basque souvenirs and postcards, while the district museum, the Northeastern Nevada Museum, has a section dedicated to the Basques and their influence in the region. The Elko educational system offers classes in Euskara via video-conferencing.

17.3 CELEBRATING BASQUE
The Elko Basque Club annually organizes a glamorous parade. A mural in the City Park by Urrizaga, a local Basque artist, greets those who attend the summer picnic, which, along with the usual ingredients, includes since 2000 the running of the bulls in the streets and sokamuturras in the style of those held in Euskal Herria itself. The club building is the base for various dance groups, among them the three making up the Elko Arinak Dance Group, founded in the 1960's, as well as the recent Beti Egarri, which formed in 1998.

17.4 ELY ZAZPIAK BAT
In the central part of the state, the town of Ely was the site of the Ely Zazpiak Bat (1960), which, following a few years of deadlock, in 1996 resumed its Ely Festival for one year. This was one of the most popular festivals of the 1960's and 1970's. The Basques in this area, which is not expanding, continue however to hold an annual meeting. Also Ely has a rich history of Basque establishments, among them the Ely Hotel, the Plaza Hotel, and the Club Rio, with buildings that are still seen in the downtown area.

17.5 OBERENAK
Battle Mountain, Nevada has a new club since 1997, which joined NABO in 2000. It is comprised of sixty families, who wish to preserve the Basque legacy enjoyed for so long in the area, for their children. Recently they have given the name "Oberenak" to their dance group, made up of thirty-seven young people ranging in age from four to sixteen.