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Germanfest Picnic

Prost! Germanfest Picnic in St. Anne’s Hill This Weekend

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Founded in 1983, Dayton’s Germanfest Picnic is a 3-day celebration of the Miami Valley’s rich German heritage. German food, plenty of fantastic German and domestic bier and wein, your favorite bands playing in the biergarten, the Polka Mass, Culture Display, Kinder Korner and food and craft vendors.

The heart of the festivities is the Dayton Liederkranz Turner Clubhouse at 1400 E. Fifth Street in historic St. Anne’s Hill, one of Dayton’s original German neighborhoods. The footprint of the festival stretches along East Fifth Street from Keowee to Dutoit Streets.

Plenty of free parking is available on Saturday and Sunday in the lots at Stivers High School and all weekend long at the SOITA lot at the corner of Keowee and Fifth Streets. Just follow the yellow signs.

Dayton Germanfest Picnic Announces New Location

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The Dayton Germanfest Picnic is excited to announce that its new venue is RiverScape MetroPark in downtown Dayton. “We received over 30 suggestions of new locations from all over the Miami Valley,” explained Chairperson John Koerner, “but because of the 127-year connection of our sponsor, the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner, with the downtown area, we really wanted to keep it in Dayton proper if at all possible. A survey conducted on our Facebook page showed that RiverScape MetroPark was by far the most popular choice. Dayton Celtic Fest and other festivals have put RiverScape MetroPark on the map as Dayton’s favorite spot to celebrate, and we look forward to building on that tradition, and infusing it with our own special German ambience – we call it Gemütlichkeit.”

Photo provided by Theresa Gasper

When the Liederkranz received word that Carillon Park would no longer be available for the Germanfest Picnic, Val Hunt Beerbower and Sandy Gudorf from the Downtown Dayton Partnership were among the first to contact us to offer to help us find a new location. The Partnership helped us meet with the folks at Five Rivers MetroParks, who have been a joy to work with. The rest, as they say, is history.

The new location will allow for future growth of the Germanfest Picnic, starting with extended hours this year for the Germanfest Picnic – 5-11 p.m on Friday, August 11, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 12, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 13, with a Polka Mass at 10 a.m.

The Germanfest 5K and 10K will have a new route this year, and has been moved to Saturday morning, August 12 at 9:00 a.m.  Registration information is available at www.keysports.net.

The Dayton Liederkranz Turner is most grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support we have received from the Dayton community this past couple months, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Germanfest Picnic’s new home at RiverScape MetroPark for its 34th edition on August 11, 12 and 13. A full range of sponsorship, marketing, and publicity opportunities are available.

Guest Post: Ego, Power & Greed

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How Dayton History coopted the GermanFest Picnic

Enjoying the beer, food, music and fun at the German Picnic in 2004. Photo by Theresa Gasper No clue who the people are!

How else do you describe the actions of the President & CEO of a venue that has been home to a festival for more than 30 years.

With no phone call, no advance notice, no hint as to the park’s intent to host its own 10 day event on the dates the GermanFest has used every year (the second weekend of August) for 33 years, the Dayton Liederkranz Turner’s picnic chair literally received a “Dear John” letter.

Full disclosure: My mother, Wanda Wiedman, started the German Picnic 34 years ago. It has grown into one of the area’s premier festivals and is typically thought of as the kick off to festival season. With the exception of a couple of years at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, it has always been at Carillon Park. The first year there were 400 people, recent years have probably been closer to 50–75,000. The crowds are always huge when the Clydesdales are in town.

The crowd checking out the Clydesdales at the 2011 GermanFest Picnic in Carillon Park.
Volunteers frying up Trudy’s Schnizel.

I cannot begin to count how many schnitzel I fried, volunteers I recruited, beers I drank, tables I broke down (not because of the beer, but as part of the clean up), etc over the years, but it doesn’t begin to compare to all the work done by people like my mother, John, the Sagassers, Trudy and countless others. Many of the volunteers have worked every one of the 33 years and are now in their 80s or beyond.

Three generations of my family enjoying the picnic in 2011.

And Carillon Park benefited nicely from the arrangement with electrical upgrades, as well as a lot of foot traffic and exposure. For as long as I can remember, the German Picnic attendance numbers were included in the park’s attendance numbers and helped them receive many grants over the years.

The festival is going to be bigger and better than what they ever did here before,” Kress said. “It is no longer financially beneficial to us to continue to partner with them.”

The park has changed with recent growth under Brady’s tenure, but the picnic has adapted. But what changed more than anything were the rules of the game. One of the first things that changed was a park fee — $5000 back in the day, which I know because my husband and I covered it for a few years as a gift to the Club. When they tried to jack it to $10,000 the picnic moved to the fairgrounds for a few years. It wasn’t the same to be honest. Then Dayton History was trying to get the beer & food revenue. I’ve been out of the loop for the past 10 years, so I don’t have details of the current extortion rates, but I have a hard time believing that the arrangement was not financially beneficial to Dayton History.

Read Brady’s quote above and tell me that doesn’t smack of ego, power and greed. We’re not talking about rival businesses here, we’re talking about non profits putting on a community festival. This isn’t an idea Brady Kress or the Dayton History Board of Trustees just came up with. You don’t come up with a 10 day festival within 24 hours of notifying your “partner” that you no longer find it financially beneficial to work with them.

So here we are…the Club is now scrambling to find a venue with 8 months to go; Dayton History will do its own thing; and a lot of people in the community are upset with not just the decision but the way it was handled.

What can you do? You can start by sending Brady Kress an email and letting him know how you feel about the picnic and the handling of this matter.

You can also support the Dayton Liederkranz Turner by attending their events in St Anne’s Hill Historic District. There is a Schnitzel Dinner on Saturday January 14th — and trust me, the one thing you will NOT get at the ten day festival replacing the GermanFest is Trudy’s Schnitzel.

I won’t presume to tell you not to attend the Dayton History event in August, but assuming the GermanFest Picnic can find a suitable venue, I hope you will indeed support it. For 33 years it’s been the 2nd weekend in August. Who knows where or when it will be this year, if at all.

Peace,

tg

Editors Note:  tg is Theresa Gasper, longtime community volunteer

3 Days of Germanfest Picnic Kicks Off Tonight

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germanfest-picnicThe 32nd edition of the Germanfest Picnic, one of the oldest and most authentic celebrations of all things German in the tri-state area, returns to Carillon Historical Park in Dayton on August 14, 15 and 16.

2015 festival hours will be Friday, August 14 from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday, August 15 from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday, August 16 from noon to 6 p.m., with a Polka Mass at 11 am preceding the official opening time.

Highlighting the Keg Tapping and Opening Ceremonies with TV2’s Brian Davis at 6 pm on Friday, will be the presentation of Scholarship Awards to Emily Meyer, Matthew Pusheck and Thomas G. Adams. Besides recognizing these students’ outstanding academic achievements, the awards also reward their efforts to promote German culture. Over the past dozen years, the Dayton Liederkranz Turner has presented almost $40,000 in scholarships, which are funded with part of the proceeds from the annual Germanfest Picnic.

Jane’s Best Bets (8/10 – 8/14)

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Guest Bartending Last Week at The Moraine Embassy!

There are lots of great things going on this week in Dayton, so let’s jump right into it!

On Wednesday, support DATV by attending the DATV Fishing Derby at Gettysburg Fish Lake.  If you’re like me and can only draw stick people, then you may want to attend the Drawing Studio with Loretta Puncer at Gallery 510 Fine Art.  Head to Courthouse Square to see the Blue Sky Project ‘Artists without Borders’ Solo Exhibition.  No matter what you’ve been thinking about the national debt crisis, you will be able to share your opinions at ThinkTV with their Citizens Forum on the National Debt.  Over at Chappy’s, participate in their Southern Tier Creme Brulee Tapping…sounds delicious!  There are also some great musical options for Wednesday!  You can see Muse Machine in Concert as they perform ‘Tonight’ at Victoria Theatre, Alien Ant Farm at McGuffy’s House of Rock, or Miranda Cosgrove at the Fraze.

On Thursday, make your way to Courthouse Square for the The Square Is Where featuring Beseda Folk Dancers.  Enjoy fresh local produce at the Centerville Farmers Market.  If you have young kids, consider taking them to Story Hour at Cooper Park or to the Salvation Army Kroc Center for the Shoot! Score! Success! Back2School Family Event.  Both are FREE!  If you enjoy good food, you will not want to miss The Taste of The Greene, which will feature great food from The Greene’s wonderful restaurants.  And be sure to get your tickets in advance in order to get the discounted price!  Meet some great young professionals at Generation Dayton’s Thirsty Thursday at Milano’s on Brown Street.  If you Muse Machine in Concert - TONIGHT: The Songs of West Side Story & Moredidn’t get to see the Muse Machine’s ‘Tonight’ performance on Wednesday, then tonight is definitely the night!  Or catch live music at the Dayton Art Institute for their Twilight Concert, at RiverScape for Big Band Nights featuring the Hal Harris Orchestra, or at the Fraze to see Willie Nelson.

On Friday, during your lunch hour, head to Courthouse Square for The Square Is Where featuring Mindy Galvin Band…just don’t be a square and not attend.  If you see food and then enjoy eating it, you’ll want to attend the Seafood Extravaganza at The Dock.  And if seafood is not your thing, then make your way to Oregon Express for their amazing Half-Price Happy Hour Pizzas.  Although the end of summer is drawing near, you will be able to see A Midsummer Night Dream which is being presented by Free Shakespeare at the University of Dayton’s ArtStreet.  Make your way to Fifth Third Field for Friday Night Fights.  At Victoria Theatre, see The African Queen as part of the Michelob Ultra Cool Films Series.  And finally, get a brat (the food kind) and drink some German beer at the Germanfest Picnic, which is being held at Carillon Park.

On Saturday, get fresh local produce with City Beets at the Market at the PNC 2nd Street Market or at the Troy Farmers Market.  I don’t know how to say the name of this wine, but if you like Sauvignon Blanc, then make your way to Jungle Jim’s for their Sauvignon Blancs of the World tasting.  Speaking of wine, the Fraze will be hosting the Festival of the Vine, which will feature fine wine and cool jazz.  Help make history by bringing a canned good to Brixx for their Canned Food Drive and possibly setting a new Guinness World Record for the most food collected in a 24 hour period.  Head up to Boston’s Bistro for their 10th Semi-Annual Greek Night or to the Dayton Visual Arts Center for the High-Rise Harmony Artist Palate Party.  At Carillon Park, join the many Germans (and wannabe Germans) drinking German beer and eating German food as part of the Germanfest Picnic.  At Stubbs Amphitheater, listen to the Centerville Community Band.  Watch Free Shakespeare’s presentation of A Midsummer Night Dream at the University of Dayton’s ArtStreet.  And finally, enjoy the summer weather and head to Fifth Third Field as the Dragons play the Lake County Captains.

On Sunday, all arts and crafts lovers should make plans to attend Art on the Commons, which will take place at Civic Commons Park in Kettering.  The Germanfest Picnic will still be going on over at Carillon Park.  If you didn’t get to make it to the 2nd Street Market earlier in the weekend, then perhaps you should go to the Garden Station Sunday Market.  Sit in the air conditioning at Victoria Theatre in order to see The African Queen as part of the Michelob Ultra Cool Films Series.  At the University of Dayton’s ArtStreet, you will still be able to see A Midsummer Night Dream presented by Free Shakespeare.  Catch the Dayton Dragons as they play the Lake County Captains.  And finally, there are a few opportunities for live music – Pizzazz in the Park Summer Concert Series: Jake & Elwood Blues Revue at Riverfront Park in Miamisburg, The Sauerkraut German Band at Stubbs Amphitheater, and The Charlie Daniels Band at the Miami County Agricultural Society.  Their show may be “the best there’s ever been.”

And now it’s time for the Dumb Joke of the Week. Drum roll please…

What do you call a bear with no teeth?  A gummy bear.

These are just a few best bets from the DMM Calendar.  There are plenty more events listed there, so if you haven’t, I encourage you to check it out today!  Also, if you have an event to share or promote, please submit it– it’s great marketing and better yet, it’s FREE!  And finally, if you have a dumb joke to share, I’m all ears!

Have a great week Dayton!