Delaware Singing Society
The Delaware Singers Association is a German-American association based near Newark (Delaware) in the USA . The club has approximately 800 members who meet at the clubhouse in Ogletown, Delaware. In addition to a choir, the association also includes the following groups: a Bavarian folk dance group (“Enzian folk dance group”), a women's group (the “Ladies of the Delaware Singers Association”), youth football teams (the “DSB Kickers”), a youth group and a genealogy group . The association also offers German courses for adults and children.
history
The club was founded in March 1853 by 16 German immigrants as a men's choir. The association quickly developed into an important social point of contact for its members, their families and newly arriving immigrants. The clubhouse (known as the "Deutsche Halle") was located at 205 East Sixth Street in Wilmington, Delaware , from 1883 to 1965 . Then the club moved due to the increasing urban development in the current clubhouse in Ogletown (Delaware). The club has existed continuously since 1853, making it one of the oldest clubs in Delaware.
The association and the German community in Wilmington held their first public festival in September 1883 in Schuetzen Park in Wilmington. The festival was held there over the next few years. For the 50th anniversary of the association, the association held another festival, this time in the new Brandywine Springs Park. The folk festival continued until 1912. When the Delaware Singing Association celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1978 in a large marquee to accommodate all the guests, the idea of an annual folk festival was reborn. The first Oktoberfest in the Munich tradition was held in 1979. Since then, the club's Oktoberfest has become a long-standing tradition in Delaware.
Events
The Delaware Singers Association shares its German tradition and culture with the population at two annual events: the “ Oktoberfest ” (on the third weekend in September) and the “ Christkindlmarkt ” (on the second Saturday in November).
The Oktoberfest of the Delaware Singers Association is named after the famous Oktoberfest in Munich. Over 15,000 visitors visit the large festival tent on the club's premises every year to dance to German musicians and brass bands, to try homemade potato salad and sauerkraut and to experience the performances of the Schuhplattler of the Bavarian folk dance group. Carousel rides are offered for children.
Web links
Coordinates: 39 ° 40 ′ 26.4 " N , 75 ° 41 ′ 53.8" W.