OctoberFest Mt. Angel Style

As some of you know I name all the photos I take. I was recently told this was weird. I name them by the feeling I get looking at them, the color maybe what the photo says to me. Anyway, These are of course named. The first one is "Die Fruchtsaule " which means the harvest monument. It is a sign of a bountiful harvest and of the goodness of Creation. The Monument is typically in the center of the festival and good place to meet up friends.






The next is called "Impatient Feet" The girls were ready to do the opening dance but one of the news stations wanted them to wait so they could broadcast live with the girls in the back. The news crew did their 30 second shot then packed up and left before the second dance!I thought that quite rude after stalling the opening for 15 minutes.



Third photo is called "Waiting to weave". The Maypole dance is a folk dance done throughout early Europe. Traditionally done in the spring for the May Day Festival. The Swedes save the fun for their Mid - Summer Festivities. In Germany, there’s a different maypole tradition. "The young men of a village treat maypoles as totems to be defended, and different villages strive to steal each others’ poles. If a young man has a sweetheart, he might erect a small maypole in front of her bedroom window. I’m not sure if Freud ever commented on that tradition, but I wouldn’t be surprised." The dance costumes try to evoke the notion of faeries, elves, and wood nymphs. That leaves the door open for a lot of creativity. Most I saw at October Fest were similarly patterned. More on the Festivial


My last photo is called "Music Please" This woman seemed to be very relaxed but in charge. The kids had waited sooo long and really wanted to get going. They had practiced for many months and fussed with costumes. They were probably wanting to hang with their friends and eat!


As for the Fest itself we had a lot of fun. Danny was a few days away from his trip to Europe and basically living with us. Wil made some CD's for our traveling pleasure for our trip down to Mt. Angel. Dennis Leary's comedy and singing, "Iron Maiden" and one other we never even got to. Danny had never been to the Fest but was eager for the taste of Germany before going there.


We lucked out on a parking spot. We were down two blocks from last years early-before-the-crowds spot. I felt that a pleasant car ride down and good parking were a great start. We arrived around six and made a slow round of the place. The opening May Pole dance was not til 6:30. We missed it last year so I really wanted to see it this year. The dance was fine but the feeling of the community and the all the costumes are what bring me back. Well, the food too. I get that same feeling at the Edelweiss Deli. The boys were patient about watching the dance but then wanted to look around again. We browsed the craft booths and Danny bought a hat for his trip. It is able to pack flat and bounce back. It's also Teflon coated for rain I guess. It was nice and slightly German. There were less people this year as vendors and attendees. I'm not sure if the date kept people away.


Last year Wil and I were there early since I had to be to work early the next day. They let minors in the Beer Garden to sit with family and enjoy the music. Since we came much later there were no minors allowed. We stood outside a couple of times to listen to the music. The vendors we had enjoyed last year seemed absent so we opted to share a mixed platter at a restaurant. We had sampled sugared almonds, apple strudel, hot german potato salad and a sausage. The boys enjoyed fancy root beer served traditionally (no ice) and I tried the Spaten Optimator. I had never had it but will add it to the list of yummy.


We ended our night in Mt. Angel around 9:20ish. We stopped at Fred Meyer to get the last few ingredients for Wil's awesome inspired-by-Dave chili. Wil was glad we had a bit of cash this year. Last year there was a husband and wife chef team that made marinades. He really liked them and hoped (but didn't ask) we could get some this year.The name of the line they have is called Maurer's. They are really helpful with ideas. They give several recipies with purchace as well as on the web site. Both years Wil and the Gentleman got into cooking discussions. We got the "Jamaican Rub", "Hot Chickpigcow Sauce" and "Mighty Hot". The product is great and the folks are really nice. Support them. Wil is excited to experiment. He added the Jamaican Rub to the chili - Wow!

YoM