What makes a good event? Is it the music? Is it the food and drink? The people? Is it that prevailing location, location, location? I think every good event has a few of these but the thing about great events is that they have a combination of all of these. The event on Saturday evening, February 23, 2019 had all three and the location to beat.
Der Tag ist vorüber
Die Menschen sind müde
Doch viele gehn nicht gleich nach Haus
Denn drüben klingt aus einer offnen Türe
Musik auf den Gehsteig hinaus
Oftentimes music can lift your spirits. It might have been a long day. You may be tired. Maybe you want to go home and rest but you know that when you hear that familiar music it can change your entire mood. Music reminds us of good times, of home, and it accompanies fun giving us energy to have great experiences. Anyone that has been with us as German Hungarians knows that one band does this for us above all others.
Die Heimatklänge returned to the Austrian Village that evening and filled our hearts and the dance floor with music and dancing, reminding us all what good can come from being together. The dance group, but really the United German Hungarians as a whole, needs to thank Billy, Freddy, Joey, John, Wayne, and Dino for playing the fundraiser but also for providing the best soundtrack to club life we could ask for!
Die Postkarten dort an der Wand in der Ecke
Das Foto vom Fußballverein
Das Stimmengewirr
Die Musik aus der Jukebox
All das ist ein Stückchen Daheim
Wer Hunger hat
Der bestellt Würstchen mit Kraut
Weil es andere Speisen nicht gibt
Die Rechnung
Die steht auf dem Bierdeckel drauf
Doch beim Wirt hier hat jeder Kredit
The Austrian Village is like a memory each and every time you step through the doors. You see faces of old friends, some often seen and others less frequent. You can stand at the bar with a drink in hand or sit at your table and the atmosphere engrosses you. The photos of bands, soccer players, and friends and family are on the wall near the bar. You see the smiles on the faces of family, hear the laughter and find yourself either deep in conversation with your people or just marveling at all that is going on around you, intimate, warm, and happy.
The smell of food from the kitchen; the Austrian Village has been feeding us for generations. Schnitzel dinners, hearty, hot and delicious filled the bellies of our guests. Somehow, that night the Schnitzel just tasted better than usual! Here we need to thank the staff of the Austrian Village. The waitresses are the best in the business and they serve with a warm smile and a friendly demeanor all while working harder than most on a crowded Saturday night. We also need to send a huge thank you to Linda and her family at the Austrian Village for taking the chance to host this fundraiser for us! It went off without a hitch and we are happy that we could work together. It would not have been possible without a lot of trust from her!
Die kleine Kneipe in unserer Straße
Da wo das Leben noch lebenswert ist
Dort in der Kneipe in unserer Straße
Da fragt dich keiner was du hast oder bist
Entertainment, food and drink, and great atmosphere in a great location are the ingredients to a great event. There is one more vital ingredient and that is the people. Members of the dance group, members of the club, our biggest supporters, folks from the Rockledge neighborhood, friends from our fellow clubs, the band, and the Village staff, all came together on this night for a great event that raised money for a good cause. The thing that was most successful was our being together! Kudos need to go to everyone that worked to put this event on. Alex Blank conceived the idea and led the way to put the event together. Brianne organized the raffles. Werner III helped to organize our dancing performances. All the members that sold tickets deserve our thanks! Our leadership, Janet, Susi, the Board and Board of Governors, thank you all! When we have success together, we can be reminded of the strength we have in unity and the respect we have for each other. When the German Hungarians are together, each one of us are equal and we all know each other’s names!
Michael N. Fricker
Editor’s Note: The passages in this entertainment review come from one of my favorite songs. The band did play it that night and I pulled some of my favorite and most relevant stanzas for use in this article. The song is “Die Kleine Kneipe.”
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