The Town of Delavan and Delavan Friends of the Park are gearing up to host Oktoberfest next weekend at Community Park.
The special fall event will be held Saturday, Oct. 19, from 3:30 to 9 p.m. at the Community Park Building, 1220 South Shore Dr., Delavan (on the corner of Highway 50 and South Shore Drive.)
It will kick off with the Dank Folk Dancers at 4 p.m. Dances will represent the various influences of the regions of Germany including the mountains of Bavaria, the North Sea region, the Karneval or Fasching season as well as those who settled along the Danube River. Additionally, the Dank Folk Dancers are influenced by the culture of the surrounding countries of Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania and Hungary.
Following that will be an Alphorn demonstration at 5 p.m. The alphorn is a straight several-meter-long wooden natural horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Organizers said guest will not want to miss the alphorn, which has a long history of being used by mountain dwellers in the Swiss Alps, Austrian Alps, Bavarian Alps in Germany, French Alps, and elsewhere.
From 6 to 9 p.m. enjoy the Steve Meisner Band. Meisner is a multi-talented musician, entertainer, composer, and arranger who began playing the accordion at the age of 5 and has been earning a living in the music business since he was 16.
Meisner has received numerous awards and nominations including “Musician, Vocalist, and Band of the Year,” “Favorite Polka Artist,” and “Lifetime Achievement award” by the Maryland Accordion Club. Meisner also resides as the 29th inductee to the Ironworld Polka Hall of Fame, and in 2005 an “Honor Roll” induction to the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame.
He is the first of his generation to reside alongside his father as a “Lifetime Achiever” in the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and most recently the International Polka Association Hall of Fame. He, and his father’s, original compositions are included on many best selling polka recordings, Grammy-nominated recordings, and can be found in the archives of the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute, and Wisconsin state libraries in both textbook and music categories.
Guests are advised to bring their polka shoes for a 7 p.m. Polka Contest.
Food service will be available from 4 to 8 p.m., including German Chocolate cake pieces for sale.
For more information visit TownOfDelavan.com or call (262) 728-3471.
