Every summer our family enjoys visiting several of the Pavilions at Folklorama! Some of our favorites are the Celtic-Ireland Pavilion with the girls dancing in their curly wigs and flashy costumes and the Brazilian Pavilion with their spectacular show of Capoeira that combines dance and martial arts and fabulous looking men with their shirts off!!!
This summer we visited the German Pavilion – I mean, when you sell Lebkuchen for a living you should go to the German Pavilion right!?!
The German Society of Winnipeg’s old brick clubhouse in the North End had been turned into the ‘Hofbräuhaus am Platzl’, a famous German brewery in Munich. And all things beer were being celebrated!
Part of the parking lot was a beer garden complete with German beers, pretzels and curry wurst. The pretzels were soft and salty and the beer was good and cold. The lively Oompa band delighted the children with several versions of the chicken dance!
The way Folklorama Pavilions work is that you line up outside for one of three showings every evening. Then you file in past tables showing cultural articles and selling souvenirs (in this case, dirndls, gummi bears and soccer paraphernalia). When you are finally inside the Hall you line up again for the food – and we were not disappointed – rouladen, wiener schnitzel, bratwurst with side dishes of rotkohl, sauerkraut and spaetzle. And to drink…beer!
After dinner Pavilions showcase their culture with singing and dance. It was great to see the generations banding together having a lot of fun with beer-related songs, dances and history. From the Opas and Omas in the brass band to the tiniest of dancers, everyone seemed to be having a great time on stage!
My children all did their elementary years at German bilingual public school. And many of their friends there came from German homes (we’re just wanna-be’s!!). It was wonderful to see some of these kids and their siblings and parents volunteering as hosts, dancers, cooks, etc.
Congratulations to the German Society of Winnipeg for a Pavilion well-done!
Tamara and the kids!
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