German-American folk festival
The German-American Volksfest (DAV) in Berlin is one of the most popular festivals in the city. It took place from 1961 to 2010 in Clayallee in the district of Zehlendorf . Every year from the end of July to the middle of August, a fair is set up. The attraction is the mobile western town. With American flair , specialties from the USA are offered at numerous stands . The Volksfest is the official district festival of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district and is under the patronage of the American Embassyorganized. From 2011 to 2015 the folk festival took place on Heidestrasse near the main train station in the Mitte district. In 2016 it was canceled because there was still no new location.
The fairground has been in Mariendorfer Marienpark since 2017 .
location
The area on which the German-American Volksfest took place until 2010 - the "Truman Plaza" - is located in the former American sector on Clayallee at the level of Hüttenweg. It belongs to the district of Dahlem in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district and is not far from the Oskar-Helene-Heim underground station . The Allied Museum is to the north of the former festival area , opposite is the United States Consulate. Development plans for the Truman Plaza forced the organizers to relocate the festival location from 2011. Originally, the focus was on other places in the south of Berlin, for example the site of the former Tempelhof Airport . In April 2011 it was announced that the annual folk festivals will in future take place on the fairground at the main train station at Heidestrasse 30 in the Moabit district ( Mitte district ).
The 56th DAV took place from July 21 to August 13, 2017 in Marienpark Berlin on the site of the former Mariendorf gasworks . From alt-mariendorf to the fairground a shuttle bus wrong.
history
The first German-American folk festival opened on July 29, 1961 and ended on August 13, the day the Berlin Wall was built. In the beginning, the folk festival increased in importance and size every year and now has more than 500,000 visitors. The public affairs office of the US armed forces even rated the festival as an important building block for German-American friendship. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the city partnership between Berlin and Los Angeles (2007), the theme and cultural program was given the motto. For the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift (2008), part of the festival program of the city of Berlin took place at the German-American Volksfest. A separate exhibition with contemporary witnesses, numerous photographs and original CARE packages was set up on the festival site.
meaning
In addition to other events such as the Franco-German Volksfest , it has its permanent place in the series of popular festivals in Berlin. The event is organized by the American Richard Simmons. After the withdrawal of the Allies and thus also of the US armed forces from Berlin, the festival has remained an important part of the event program.
subjects
Every year, the focus is assigned to a certain region in the USA, which is represented in a built "Main Street" - the main street of an American western town. This happens in cooperation with the tourist office of the respective region.
| Themes of the German-American folk festival | ||
|---|---|---|
| number | year | theme |
| 1. | 1961 | without topic |
| 2. | 1962 | Laramie Town |
| 3. | 1963 | Old Santa Fe |
| 4th | 1964 | Mayflower |
| 5. | 1965 | Sacramento |
| 6th | 1966 | Alamo |
| 7th | 1967 | St. Augustine |
| 8th. | 1968 | New Orleans |
| 9. | 1969 | Los Angeles - Bridge to the Stars |
| 10. | 1970 | The Old Wild West |
| 11. | 1971 | The Wild West |
| 12. | 1972 | Hawaii |
| 13. | 1973 | Las Vegas |
| 14th | 1974 | San Antonio |
| 15th | 1975 | Coast to Coast |
| 16. | 1976 | Spirit of '76 - Birth of a Nation |
| 17th | 1977 | Tombstone , Arizona |
| 18th | 1978 | Old San Francisco |
| 19th | 1979 | Oklahoma |
| 20th | 1980 | American Railroads |
| 21st | 1981 | Dakota Badlands |
| 22nd | 1982 | Northwest Wilderness |
| 23. | 1983 | The Mighty Mississippi |
| 24. | 1984 | California - Land of Contrasts |
| 25th | 1985 | The American Frontier |
| 26th | 1986 | Broadway in Berlin |
| 27. | 1987 | America greets Berlin |
| 28. | 1988 | Dallas in Dahlem |
| 29 | 1989 | Mardi Gras in New Orleans |
| 30th | 1990 | Alaska |
| 31. | 1991 | The Native Americans |
| 32. | 1992 | Singing USA - Memphis |
| 33. | 1993 | Reno , Nevada |
| 34. | 1994 | Montana - Big Sky Country |
| 35. | 1995 | Texas |
| 36. | 1996 | Massachusetts |
| 37. | 1997 | Wisconsin |
| 38. | 1998 | Arizona |
| 39. | 1999 | Southwest USA - Oklahoma , Arizona , Colorado, and New Mexico |
| 40. | 2000 | Rodeo USA |
| 41. | 2001 | Rodeo Country USA |
| 42. | 2002 | Florida - The Sunshine State |
| 43. | 2003 | The Great Lakes |
| 44. | 2004 | Deep South |
| 45. | 2005 | new York |
| 46. | 2006 | New Mexico |
| 47. | 2007 | Los Angeles - 40 years of twinning with Berlin |
| 48. | 2008 | Massachusetts - Indian Summer in Berlin |
| 49. | 2009 | Washington & Oregon - Pacific Wonderland |
| 50. | 2010 | 50 years - 50 folk festivals |
| 51. | 2011 | Discover America! |
| 52. | 2012 | New York , Florida , California & Wild West visit the capital |
| 53. | 2013 | New York , Florida , California & Wild West visit the capital |
Character of the event
Main Street
Mainstreet represents a main street of a typical American small town. Typical American dishes such as cheeseburgers , hot dogs and T-bone steaks are served with regional specialties from the respective state. Each region is represented by the local tourist office through a tourist office.
Stage program
In addition, artists from the region perform every year. Mariachis, Indian groups or a jazz band from Los Angeles (New West Guitar) have already visited the event and performed on stage. Music plays an important role at the German-American Volksfest. According to the organizer, there will be over 300 hours of stage program. There is bull riding at the marquee . In addition, Mister and Miss elections are held. Every Tuesday a "Bikerday" is organized, on which motorcyclists show off their machines. The Corvette Club Berlin-Brandenburg meets here and exhibits the cars of the club members.
Hype
In addition, classic elements such as rides (including a ferris wheel , a wild water ride and several carousels ), fairground booths and food stands determine the character of the festival.
Other American folk festivals in Germany
There are also German-American folk festivals in other cities in Germany, for example in Vilseck , Hohenfels , Grafenwoehr , Wiesbaden , Bremerhaven and Munich (here the “Little Oktoberfest” as the successor to the German-American folk festival there). The German-American Volksfest Schweinfurt was held twice a year, as a spring and autumn festival , until it was closed in 2002.
German-American folk festival Grafenwoehr
The German-American Volksfest Grafenwöhr takes place every year on the first weekend in August at the Grafenwöhr military training area in Camp Kasserine. More than 110,000 people attended the fair in 2014. The income is administered by the German-American Joint Committee Grafenwöhr and donated to charitable purposes. The Vilseck festival takes place every year on the southern edge of the Grafenwöhr military training area and is organized by the local German-American contact club.
German-American Volksfest Wiesbaden
The German-American Volksfest in Wiesbaden is a friendship festival . After a temporary hiatus, it has been celebrated around American Independence Day since 2014 . Rides, attractions and stalls are offered annually. The festival ends on July 4th with a 4th of July fireworks display .
Web links
- German-American Volksfest Berlin
- German-American folk festival Grafenwoehr
- German-American Volksfest Vilseck
- New West GuitarMyspace page of New West Guitar
Individual evidence
- ↑ Middle: German-American folk festival on Heidestrasse. In: Berliner Morgenpost , April 11, 2011
- ↑ a b From Duppel to Truman Plaza, Gabriele Heidenfelder
- ↑ The Governing Mayor of Berlin ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Stadtkind Blog ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . The daily mirror
- ^ Volksfest 2009 in Dahlem - Search for new quarters is ongoing. In: Berliner Morgenpost , August 28, 2008
- ↑ Information from the organizer
- ^ German-American friendship festival. In: Wiesbaden lives - Another news site. Volker Watschounek, June 30, 2018, accessed June 30, 2018 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 10 ″ N , 13 ° 16 ′ 13 ″ E