German American Club’s Gartenfests begin Saturday
The German American Social Club will kick off the first in a series of festivals this weekend.
Gartenfest will take place on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. on the club’s grounds, with the festivities continuing until 8 p.m. inside Edelweiss Hall. Others are set for Feb. 21, March 13 and April 17.
Steve Bauer, the event chair, explained that gartenfests are a tradition in German culture.
“A lot of the pubs or bars will have a beer garden. It’s also popular in towns,” he said.
“It’s basically a beer fest in the garden,” Bauer said. “It’s usually a celebration of the time of year.”
Admission is $3 for non-members; children under 12 are free. Parking is free.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 people typically attend, with good weather drawing a higher turnout.
“We can get crowds of up to 2,000,” he said.
This weekend, the twin brothers-duo Sepp and Heinz will perform.
“They play the more traditional folk music,” Bauer said.
Inside Edelweiss Hall, Manni Daum will entertain the crowd from 4 to 8 p.m.
“He plays traditional German music, but he also plays modern German music,” he said.
German dishes will be available for purchase on site.
“We have an extensive outdoor food concessions,” Bauer said.
There are potato pancakes with applesauce, schnitzel – a breaded pork cutlet – as a sandwich with mushroom gravy, schnitzel on a stick, bratwurst and knockwurst platters or sandwiches, and more.
“We’ll also have a dessert booth,” he said.
There will be alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
“We’ll be serving domestic and German varieties,” he said.
Selections include Bud, Bud light, Amber Bock and Beck’s, as well as Krombacher and Krombacher Weiss, which is a wheat beer. Wine will also be for sale, and there is a full bar in Edelweiss Hall.
“We will have a small vendor row,” Bauer said. “Similar to what we have at Oktoberfest.”
Organizers encouraged the public to come out and enjoy the event.
“This is about as close of an event as you’re going to get to the flavor of that,” he said of the Gartenfests, comparing them to Oktoberfest. “It’s on a smaller scale, but it is the same program.”
For more information, call (239) 283-1400 or visit: www.gasc-capecoral.com.
German American Social Club is at 2101 S.W. Pine Island Road.