October 2006 - Nr. 10
Dick reports...
It’s "Oktoberfest Season" again.
While it is said that we have 5 seasons in Canada – Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Construction – to the German contingent of our cultural mosaic in Canada, there is a sixth season each year: Oktoberfest Season!
It
is not native to this country; it is an import – just like the many fabulous
beers that are now available here, but for many people it rekindles fond
memories.
One
of the most famous Oktoberfests is the one held in Kitchener. It draws
thousands of revellers from all over North America. But most of the German
clubs celebrate Oktoberfests also – some in September already – as a reason
for folks to get together, dance to familiar tunes, eat traditional food –
like pork hocks, schnitzels, sausages, sauerkraut and other familiar fare.
At
the Hansa Haus the Harmonie Brass Show band put on a great show again that
kept most of the guest on the dance floor. Since the house was sold out,
that meant that the dance floor was well visited at all times.
Of course there was also the traditional entertainment by the club’s dance groups such as the Almrausch and Weiss-Blau Bayern.
S.T.V. Weiss-Blau Bayern
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Artistic merit goes to Carmen for her skill in playing the cowbells. That really takes a lot of dexterity and is always well received by the audience.
Almrausch Dancers
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Another
item that was well received were the pork hocks offered by the Hansa
kitchen. They sold out – but there was still a great selection of other
delicious food available and the goulash seemed to be a favourite with many
of the hungry revellers.
Three festive days at the Danube Swabians
The
"Donauschwaben" also celebrated two days of Oktoberfest. Both days were well
visited but not quite as full as they could have been. But the Transylvania
Hofbräu
Band
– and the Golden Keys, on Sunday – kept the dance floor full and the guests
entertained with a rich palette of familiar Oktoberfest type music.
Danube Swabian Oktoberfest
On Saturday an unplanned entertainment surprised the guests. A large Shanty Choir from Bremen stopped by on their North American tour and offered to sing for the guests – an offer that was gladly accepted.
Traditional home-cooked Oktoberfest meals included not only the schnitzels and sausages, but also tender and delicate pork hocks.
I tried the great tasting homemade sausage. I also tried to eat it with the plastic knifes and forks that were provided, not a great idea – thank God for Swiss Army knifes!
One
week later the "Egerländer Musikanten" entertained a truly full house at the
club. The musicians were on a North-American tour to celebrate their 40th
anniversary. They hail from Melsungen in the Fulda river dale (Nordhessen)
in Germany.
A truly full house
The
orchestra consists of 25 music-lovers and two female vocalists, Heidi and
Waltraut, is heavily saturated with brass instruments and well known far
away from their ancestral home, since they travel not only in Germany, but
also in the rest of Europe and North America. This trip started in Vancouver
with stops in Vernon, the Rocky Mountains, and Calgary, Hanna, Montreal,
Quebec City, Ottawa, Kingston, Kitchener, Toronto, Niagara Falls and St.
Catharines - with five performances in German-Canadian Clubs en-route.
Even with all the brass instruments, their music is not as harsh as traditional military music but softer and warmer. They also want to stress the fact that they are not professional musicians – a fact that is not reflected in their brilliant presentation.
The repertoire consisted mostly of tunes that were quite unfamiliar to most of the audience, but it was a wonderful listening experience nonetheless.
The
first hour was designed primarily as a concert and the public was only
invited to dance after the first intermission. That invitation was followed
enthusiastically by most of the audience.
Dancing to the music
This evening was another one of the many grand events that are staged at the club throughout the year. By the way, one of the musicians is a "Danube Swabian".
Polish Festival on Roncesvalles
This is another large ethnic community that is proud of its heritage. Hosted by the St. Stanislaus – St. Casimir’s Polish Parishes Credit Union, this annual Polish festival presented some of the unique legacy of this proud member of Canada’s multicultural mosaic. Many of the restaurants – not all of Polish origin – offered tasty dishes outside of their establishments at very reasonable prices. Yes, there were perogies, Zywiec beer and Lukusova Vodka from Poland available in the beverage garden. Polish and Canadian performers entertained on the various stages and one of the highlights was the traditional "Dancing Under The Stars" feature on Saturday night.
Of course there were many little booths and tents set up along the route that were doing great business selling everything from Honey to the "Smart" car from Mercedes – plus a small midway for the younger crowd.
Now that the "Oktoberfest Season" will soon be over, it is time to think of the "Carnival Season" again with an early start on November 4th already.
Until then, as always
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
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