Celebrating German kultur

By Amy Venn

German Kulturfest has something for everyone this year as the festival expands into a celebration of German immigration, food, music, dance and history.

“Most people think about the Scandinavian influence around here,” Davin Wait, communications coordinator for the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, said recently, “but there is a strong German tradition in the area.”

The German Kulturfest is an event to honor that tradition. It all starts with the food, which is served buffet style and boasts foods like pork loin, sauerkraut, red cabbage salad and brats. Kelly Wambach, the chef of the event, is also throwing in some unexpected German foods. Sure to be a crowd pleaser, pickled pig’s feet loaf and beef tongue and raisin sauce will be available as well.

People will also be able to enjoy Bavarian cheeses, an assortment of German donuts and many imported wines and beers. As Wait noted, “A lot of people come here for the food.”

Wait was excited for the festival to become more than just the “beer and brats” atmosphere, however. German Kulturfest is growing every year and they are looking to branch out into more events. On the main stage events include six-piece polka band Brian Brueggen and the Mississippi Valley Dutchmen, accordion performance by Aimee Klein, the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and Gasper’s School of Dance.

“Last year we had about 1,000 people,” Wait said, “This year we are aiming for that and hoping for a bit more.”

Doug Hoverson will also be giving a presentation at German Kulturfest. Hoverson is a history teacher, coach, author, beer brewer, certified national beer judge, and beer historian. This will be Hoverson’s first year attending German Kulturfest, but he has a beer truck load of information for his presentation.

Hoverson’s first book, Land of Amber Waters, will be the central point of the presentation. His journey as an author began while he was working on a paper for one of his Master’s degrees. “It actually was John Erickson’s Moorehead Brewery that inspired the whole project in the first place,” Hoverson explained.

The next book for Hoverson is one on Wisconsin breweries, which have a significance to the Fargo-Moorehead area. “It turns out that the Fargo-Moorehead area was really a big distribution point for several of the Lacrosse and Milwaukee breweries,” Hoverson said.

A book on the state’s history of brewing and beer begins with a whole lot of leg work. “The usual starting point is trying some of the old county history books,” Hoverson explained, “but I’ve found that most of them are wrong or based on memories of people estimating when breweries opened.” He often finds good resources in beer bottle, sign and label collectors.

“There are lots and lots of people who offer to help me with research but that usually isn’t what they have in mind,” Hoverson joked, “They prefer to help with the lab research.”

It isn’t always easy juggling so many titles like Hoverson does. “I don’t have a cabin I spend my weekends at. I don’t have tv shows that I regularly watch. Most of my downtime is reading about beer brewing history or writing about it,” Hoverson said.

No matter how busy his schedule gets, Hoverson notes that his students are his top priority. Although blending his beer background with his teaching can be its own challenge. There have been times in his 30 years as a teacher when students want to know more about the beer. “I simply tell them anything about beer is a conversation we’ll have when they are 21 and come back and see me,” Hoverson stated, “Any conversation they want to have about the history of beer or about prohibition, I’d be happy to have.”

Hoverson also added, “We don’t talk about my love of beer, we talk about my love of history.” There can be an important correlation between the two topics. “There are occasions where the history of brewing is a completely relevant way of looking at some part of American social history,” Hoverson continued, “You can see through beer advertising how industries, for example, responded to WWII shortages. Or you could see how breweries responded to the increased buying power of African Americans.”

Whether it’s the history of beer and brewing, the display of Volkswagen cars, or German paper cutting art with HPR’s own Sabrina Hornung, German Kulturfest has numerous events to choose from.

Minnesota State University-Moorehead’s film club will have a collection of German film. Davin Wait explained, “It’s a component that a lot of people forget about in these sort of events. There’s a lot of emphasis on beer and brats and polka and we forget about film or science. A lot of ideas come from this region.”

“We are filling the museum with German and German-American stuff,” Wait added, “It’s a celebration of immigration from Germany that has happened here for a long time and has left a lasting mark.”

Wait also wanted to note that the festival is all inclusive to those with disabilities. “We were awarded the Americans with Disability Act to improve accessibility here,” Wait said, “We will have American sign language interpreters all day. We will have audio inscription for those who want that and almost all the events are taking place on the first floor.”

IF YOU GO

German Kulturfest Saturday, September 17, 10am-5pm Hjemkomst Center, 202 1st Ave North, Moorhead Parking can be found around the building. Shuttles will also be running from the Moorhead Center Mall.