Right at home in Belgium

Luxembourg’s new ambassador to the United States picked a good time to visit Ozaukee County for the first time.

Nicole Bintner-Bakshian got an up-close-and-personal look at the passion the Belgium area has for its heritage at the annual Luxembourg Fest on Saturday and Sunday.

“What is amazing is you see so many people who probably feel more Luxembourgish than me,” Bintner-Bakshian said.

“This is exactly what I was looking for — to see the relationships through the roots. We want to maintain this link and nurture it.”

The fest has some typical features of area community picnics — music, children’s activities and food and beverages — but it separates itself with its laser focus on Luxembourg.

Traditional food, including treipen, along with Luxembourg beer and wines are offered, and a Duke and Duchess are crowned each year.

Festival goers are a friendly bunch drawing many people distantly related.

“They use it as a family reunion,” Bintner-Bakshian said. “People have been coming up to me talking Luxembourgish.”

Some of the lingo she heard is more traditional, which would be foreign to her teenage daughters.

“It takes me back to my childhood. It gives you the whole richness of the culture,” Bintner-Bakshian said.

People, she said, have even been friendlier than back home. Luxembourgers, she said, are more reserved.

“I’m very touched by the welcome, the positive spirit,” Binter-Bakshian said.

While preserving the Luxembourg culture is an obvious priority in northern Ozaukee County, it has also become a focus across the pond, Binter-Bakshian said.

About half of Luxembourg’s population, she said, is made up of immigrants from neighbors and other European countries.

“Diversity is a big issue for us,” Bintner-Bakshian said. “People are looking for their roots.”

Bintner-Bakshian is being hosted by Mike Ansay, honorary consul of Luxembourg in Wisconsin, and the Luxembourg American Cultural Center. The visit is her first official act as ambassador.

In addition to attending Luxembourg Fest, Bintner-Bakshian toured Luxembourg heritage sites in Ozaukee County, attended meetings facilitated by Ansay regarding economic initiatives, including a Luxembourg start-up investment fund, and future plans for the New Luxembourg Village Square in Belgium.

The trip is not her first time to America. Bintner-Bakshian visits every year since her husband is from Washington, D.C.

Bintner-Bakshian studied at the University of Luxembourg, the European School of Management in Paris, Oxford and Berlin, and the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. She has represented the Luxembourg government in Islamabad, Dehli, Manila, Beijing and Bangkok.  She previously served as Ambassador of Luxembourg to the United Arab Emirates and, most recently as Ambassador of Luxembourg to Senegal, Burkina, Faso, Mali and Niger with residence in Dakara, Africa.