Karneval Time at the Athenaeum in Indy

Karneval, the German version of Mardi Gras, will be celebrated from 6 p.m. 'til midnight 30 January at the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. Theme this year is "Wild Wild West! Shoot Out at the 'A'!"

Karneval societies participating are the hosts, the Athenaeum Karneval Klub, plus Erste Karnevals-Gesellschaft of Cincinnati, Germania Society Cincinnati and German American Klub of Indianapolis. Advance tickets are $15, with admission $20 at the door. For reservations, call 317:655-2755 x3.

The tradition of Karneval, in Indianapolis, goes back to the 1880's when German societies held lavish masked balls. Traditions of the evening continuing in 2010 will include: Presentation of Karneval Royalty and Karneval Ordens, the Grand March, music, dancing, raffle and prizes! Dance band will be Pros't from Cincinnati, Ohio. Other entertainment: Athenaeum Pops German Band, Indianapolis Maennerchor and Erste Karneval Gesellschaft. Athenaeum Karneval also incorporates Karneval traditions of its German sister city Cologne/Köln.

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Dachshund Racing, Yodeling...and More!

"The Original and Fabulous GermanFest" (a first for Indy) takes place Saturday (10 October) at the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

This "coming together of the Indianapolis German-American Community" is a free indoor/outdoor, day-long, family event on the grounds of the Athenaeum. The idea is to celebrate all things German and German-influenced . . . food, drink, live entertainment, cultural displays, children's activities, crafts and more.

Here's the schedule for Stage One:
Noon-1 p.m. Meisterwinds - German Oompah!
1-1:30 p.m. Yodeling Contest
2-2:30 p.m. Dachshund Racing
2:30-3:15 p.m. die Fledermaeuschen Tanzgruppe - German Folk Dancers
3:15-4:15 p.m. Liederkranz - German Song!
3-3:30 p.m. Damenchor
3:30-4 p.m. Maennerchor
4-7 p.m. PolkaMotion - Polka Cleveland-Style

Bandshell Biergarten
4-4:30 p.m. Amazing AutoHarps
5-6:30 p.m. Athenaeum Pops Orchestra

Stage Two
1-2 p.m. Young Actors Theatre
2-2:30 p.m. Kindertanzgruppen
3-3:30 p.m. Saengerchor - German Song
5-6 p.m. Indianapolis Maennerchor - Gentlemen of Song since 1854

The Athenaeum Theater
Special VIP event (tickets are $125)
7:30 p.m. dinner and GermanFest silent auction, followed by 9 p.m. performance of "1964", a Beatles tribute band, in honor of their starting point, Hamburg, Germany. 7:30 to 8:30 pm - 1964 perform at 9:00 p.m. Call 317:655-2755 ext. 1 or email Jim Gould for reservations or more information.

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Learn German in 2009

A good place to learn German before heading off to Europe on your next vacation is the Athenaeum (it wasn't named Das Deutsche Haus back in the 1800s for nothing). Two courses begin next month.

The first session of an eight-week course in "Beginning German Conversation" will be held 26 January from 6 to 7:30 p.m. "Intermediate German Conversation", also eight weeks, begins a few days earlier, on 21 January, also from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Classes are held in the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis; cost is $90 per person or $160 per couple. For information and registration for either course, contact Claudia Grossman, Claudia Grossman, 317:274-3943.

Children's Lantern Festival at Athenaeum

The annual St. Martin's Children's Lantern Festival steps off at 5 p.m. from the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, next Saturday (8 November).

St. Martin on his white horse leads the annual children's lantern parade into Lockerbie Square - the original Germantown.

Bishop Martin of Tours (whose Saint's Day is 11 November) was a Roman soldier, turned Christian cleric, who shared his cape with a beggar. To mark this good deed, children process in lantern parades as beggars on St. Martin's day. They sing the traditional "Ich geh mit meiner Laterne," beg for a treats and are rewarded with candy.

The traditional treat of potato pancakes with apple sauce will be served back at the Athenaeum. Cost is $5 per individual or $15 per family. For more information, contact Jim Gould, 317:655-2755 ext 149.

German-American Weekend in Indy

German-American Day has turned into German-American Weekend – at least in Indianapolis. In addition to events traditionally sponsored by various local organizations on the actual holiday – 6 October – the city celebrates the 20th anniversary of its partnership with Cologne, Germany, as part of Sister Cities International, today through Monday.

A 30-member delegation from Cologne arrived in Indianapolis Tuesday, representing the German portion of the two-city partnership.

Today, after breakfast in the Columbia Club, Dr. Giles Hoyt leads the visitors on a downtown walking tour, highlighting the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. In the afternoon, there are visits to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This evening includes a dinner hosted by the Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee.

Friday morning starts with an 8:15 a.m. breakfast with Dr. Werner Hoyer, a member of the German Bundestag (FDP party), in the offices of the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. Dr. Hoyer will discuss "Global Challenges and Changes in Leadership in the United States and Europe" in a presentation sponsored by the Indianapolis Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany, Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee and Independent Colleges of Indiana.

Friday also includes a visit to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, followed by stops at other attractions in White River State Park including the Indiana State Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo. An architectural tour of Columbus is scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday evening, the Cologne visitors will participate in “A Taste of Germany”. The fundraiser, which benefits both the local Sister City committee and the Indianapolis Fire Department Firefighters Local 416 “Survive Alive” Program, is 5-9 p.m. in the historic Firefighters Union Hall, 748 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis. There’ll be authentic German food, plus 16 different labels of German beer to try. Admission (over 21 only) is $50.

The annual German-American Day Celebration at the Indianapolis City Market hosted by the Indiana German Heritage Society is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday. There'll be music by Die Doppel-Adler and traditional dancers performing.

German-American Day celebrations continue from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday in the Biergarten of the Athenaeum / Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, with an informal party to bid auf Wiedersehen to the Cologne visitors.

The Sister City agreement was signed in 1988 by then-Mayor William H. Hudnut III, and reaffirmed in 1998 by then-Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. It will be reaffirmed this year by Mayor Greg Ballard.

Chairman of the Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee is Sven Schumacher.

German-American Day commemorates Oct. 6, 1683, when the first immigrants from Germany arrived on North American soil.

Indy Celebrates German-American Day

Come to the Indianapolis City Market from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 6 October for the annual German-American Day Celebration hosted by the Indiana German Heritage Society.

There'll be music by Die Doppel-Adler and traditional dancers performing, plus commemorative pins, handouts and books available at special prices.

Special guests will be a delegation from Cologne, Germany, as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee.

German-American Day celebrations continue from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Biergarten of the Athenaeum / Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, with an informal party (cash bar) to bid auf wiedersehen to our Cologne guests. For information, contact Jim Gould, 317:655-2755 ext. 149.

Herbstfest at the Athenaeum

The annual autumn family festival happens at the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, from 2-7 p.m. 28 September.

If the weather's good, it'll be outside in the Biergarten (in case of rain, in the first floor auditorium).

The Indianapolis Maennerchor leads a songest from 2:30-3 p.m., followed by children's activities and games from 3-4:15 p.m., and then music and dancing with the Jay Fox Band.

Admission is $5 for one, or $15 for the entire family.

Want to brush up your college German?

An intermediate course in German conversation begins 17 September in the Max Kade room at the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

Offered by the Indiana German Heritage Society, this course offers a chance to improve basic communicative skills in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

It will be offered from 6-7:30 p.m. 17 September through 19 November (no classes 8 October or 12 November). Cost is $90 per person or $160.00 per couple.

Instructor is Renee Gregory, associate faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

For more information and to register, contact Claudia Grossmann, 317:274-3943.

St. Benno Fest Celebrates Spring

The annual St. Benno Fest takes place at the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, from 6-11:30 p.m. 12 April. Admission at the door is $18 ($15 in advance).

The celebration marks the arrival of spring...and Bock Beer! (That's Herr Bockl and St. Benno in the photo.) Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band will play for dancing. There'll be entertainment by the Athenaeum Pops German Band, Maennerchor and Dans Norden plus a Polka Contest and Grand March. German food will be available a la carte from the Rathskeller Restaurant.

For information and reservations, call 317:655-2755. Proceeds benefit the Athenaeum Foundation.

It's German-American Week

German-American Day is Saturday (6 October), and there are numerous events scheduled to celebrate!

A mini-Oktoberfest takes place tomorrow (4 October) on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. This German-American Heritage Day celebration is 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. along the BS Breezeway on the downtown Indianapolis campus. It's cosponsored by the IUPUI German Club and Department of World Languages and Cultures, who say, "Come enjoy tasty German food, hear and sing contemporary German tunes, and participate in an interactive reading of Slaughterhouse-Five, a novel on time travel, the firebombing of Dresden and the absurdity of war by the famous Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away on 11 April 2007."

At the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus tomorrow evening (4 October) is the final film in a German-American Week Film Festival sponsored by the Indiana German Heritage Society. "The Lives of Others" (a 2006 film in German with English subtitles) will be screened at 7 p.m. in the Damenverein Room of the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. This film is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Academy Award winning film debut.

The official commemoration of German-American Day takes place 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Friday (5 October) at the Indianapolis City Market, downtown. It's also sponsored by the Indiana German Heritage Society, which promises music by Die Doppel-Adler, a dance performance by Die Fledermaeuschen Tanzgruppe, colorful German-American pins, interesting handouts and books for sale.

On Friday evening (5 October), there's a German-style Oktoberfest in Marion, featuring Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band from 7-11 p.m.

On German-American Day itself (Saturday, 6 October) there'll be a Sangerfest in the Athenaeum with the Indianapolis Liederkranz, Damenchor, Saengerchor, and Maennerchor from 3-5 p.m., followed by a 5-6 p.m. dinner in the Athenaeum Biergarten with the Meisterwinds and a sing-along with Eb Reichmann. Rain location is the auditorium.

For information on and reservations for events at the Athenaeum, contact Jim Gould, 317:630-4569, ext 1.

German Course at the Athenaeum

Traveling to Germany?
Doing business with Germans?
Want to brush up on your college German?

The Indiana German Heritage Society offers a course in basic German in a fun and relaxed atmosphere at the historic Athenaeum building in downtown Indianapolis.

"Beginning German Conversation" will be taught from 6:30-8 p.m. Mondays from 10 September through 29 October in the Max Kade Room of the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. Cost is $85 per person or $150 per couple. Instructor is Renee Gregory, an associate faculty member at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

For more information and to register contact Claudia Grossmann, 317:274-3943.

July Ethnic Hoosier Newsletter

The July issue of The Ethnic Hoosier has been posted to the Nationalities Council's website.

The July meeting of the NCI begins at 7 p.m. tonight in the Max Kade Room of the Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

Everyone is welcome!

Annual St. Benno Fest is Saturday at Athenaeum

A typical German-American celebration of spring is scheduled from 6-11 p.m. Saturday (31 March) in the Athenaeum/Das Deutsche Haus, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis.

The St. Benno Fest ($15 at the door) is sponsored by Athenaeum Turners and Athenaeum Foundation, with proceeds to benefit Athenaeum Foundation. For more information and reservations, call 317:630-4569, ext. 1.

The Annual St. Benno Fest will bring again Munich's Patron Saint and Herr Bock to the Athenaeum. There will be food, fun, music, polka contest and grand march. The Athenaeum Pops orchestra, the Indianapolis Maennerchor and Dance Norden will entertain, dancing will be to Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band. Food a la carte by the Rathskeller Restaurant.

Legend has it that St. Benno was inspired with a recipe for a delicious Brown Nectar, known today as Bock, a dark beer made before Easter. This is the oldest Fest at the Athenaeum dating earlier than 1913 and celebrates St. Benno and his special spring brew!