Aus Sängerkreisen

The singers have been rehearsing throughout the summer for their European concert tour and are well on our way to have a great experience in Germany/Switzerland/ Italy and Austria. It will be especially nice to attend the 150th Anniversary of our Friends, the Teutonia Männerchor Mannheim/Feudenheim. This is our third visit with the chorus since we first met in 1992. A very close bond has been made with the Teutonian of Feudenheim and we are looking forward to see many of our friends again. As we are celebrating Oktoberfest in Pittsburgh, the Singers and fellow Teutonians will be attending the Opening Celebrations of the Cannstatter Volksfest in Bad Cannstatt, near Stuttgart. This is the second largest Folk festival in Germany and attracts almost as many visitors as the Munich Oktoberfest. We also will visit with our friends in Altburg in the Black Forest and have a Swiss Folklore evening near Luzern. A visit to Liechtenstein and several days in South Tyrol in the Dolomite Mountains is planned. Of course what would a visit to the Alps be without Schuhplattln and Singing in the Chiemsee Region of Bavaria. The group will return to Pittsburgh via Munich on October 8.

Regular Singing practice for everyone will start Wednesday, September 12, this will give everyone a chance to wish the singers and friends a save and exciting journey. After our return singing will continue on a regular schedule.

The Singers and Schuhplattler Picnic, as always, was enjoyed by all in attendance. The cooks and all the helpers again did a great job preparing the food and all the delicious side dishes provided made it for a great day to enjoy the day with good friends. A special thank you to our President Ralph Wagner for arranging everything, to Gene Lechmanick for being the top cook and to Harry Balzert for providing his truck for transporting the refreshments and food to the picnic grounds. To everyone who contributed to the picnic we say “Dankeschön.”