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 Kindertrachtenfest at the Donauschwaben Club
This has been a tradition for over 50 years and the
audience was poignantly reminded of that in Lorie Szauter’s
welcoming remarks – after Joe Folk, the president of the club
and Lena Forstner, president of the Frauengruppe, and Susi
Kertes, grandmother of the current Miss Danube, had welcomed the
guests.
| Welcoming of the
guests |
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Lorie Szauter, being in charge of the whole event, said:
“Kindertrachtenfest is a very special event for our young
dancers and singers. It’s a time, once a year, where they can
have pride in their culture, and show off a little, to all of
their family and friends.”
She also mentioned that “Week after week parents bring their
precious crew, some come from quite a distance - making it fit
into their schedules - to participate in our program.”
 “It is our attempt to instill in our young folk and future
generations, how important it is to keep and uphold all of the
special traditions that have been passed down to us form our
Omas and Opas”.
| Enter the Danube
Swabian Youth |
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 While the DS Blaskapelle played, the current Princess, Cheyenne
Kertes, led the march-in of the various groups into the hall.
They were the Kinder, Junior & Senior/Girls. The Kindergruppe
started with 4 dances that were followed by the original Tracht
show and the issuing of certificates.
 This was followed by a heritage presentation and slideshow for
the children, by Bernie Mandl, with the proud help of his son
Peter, the electrician.
Bernie handed out Kinder Activity Books
that he had produced and congratulated the children for already
having done such fantastic performances this afternoon.
He also very thoroughly explained “Trachten” and their origins
from the various regions that the Danube-Swabians came from and
why they are not all the same – and the origin of the
“Trachtenfest” at the club over 50 years ago.
 “The Trachtenfest has become probably our biggest celebration”,
he explained, “it was a time – in the old days - when they would
put on their best clothing, often parents would spend a lot of
money so that especially the daughters had most beautiful
dresses.
| ‘Blasmusik’ or
Brass Band |
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 The ‘Blasmusik’ or Brass Band was a cherished part of life.
People enjoyed the music played by the bands – the lively
marches, polkas, waltzes and ländlers, so that the children and
the parents could dance”.
Bernie Mandl closed his address to the children and the
audience, as follows: “Thank you once again to everyone for a
fantastic afternoon. You have made me remember that it was 40
years ago that there was a little 3-year old boy who danced in
his first Trachtenfest in Toronto. I am glad that I am still
coming to Trachtenfest after all those years. I hope we’ll all
see each other next year again.”
| Dance segments... |
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| ...especially for May |
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 The second half of the afternoon’s program started with a
sing-along with Ingrid Szauter - the matriarch of the Szauter
Clan. That part of the event is always a favorite with the
youngsters, since this is their chance to show off their German
“Sprachschatz” – which by most of them was surprisingly good.
Following “Omi Ingrid” and her guitar, they sang simple German
folk-songs, such as ‘Lieb Heimatland, Ade’ or ‘Mein Vater war
ein Wandersmann’ etc. This was followed by five dances - by the
Seniors, Girls, and Juniors.
Dance with audience
participation |
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 Next on the agenda was a dance with
audience participation where the kids could instruct and teach
the grown-ups their basic dances. Guess who just loved this part
the most?
 The draw for the beautifully costumed “Tracht” dolls in the
Tombola-raffle, was another one of the highlights of these
festivities and was won by a thoroughly delighted Rosina Ripp.
 This concluded this delightful event that was so aptly guided by
Lorie Szauter from start to finish. Kudos also to the
Frauengruppe for auxiliary duties and providing the thousands of
home-baked cookies in many tasty varieties, that were on plates
at all the tables.
As always
Dick Altermann
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