When one thinks of a spring festival, the images that come to mind consist of bright colored flowers, vibrant green grass, and a beautiful blue sky. However, on May 4th, our reality at Brauhaus Schmitz’s 11th Annual Maifest consisted of some volatile weather in terms of both chilling and rainy conditions. Despite the lack of picturesque views, Die Heimatklänge took center stage and began promptly at 2pm.
Many of the citizens of Philadelphia who regularly come to this annual event seemed unfazed by the circumstances. We were surrounded by people with beer glasses raised and bodies dancing to the music. When it was time for our very own United German Hungarian Schuhplattler Group to perform, there were no shortage of bystanders gathered around the Maypole. Our dancers performed with as much gusto as usual, despite the abnormal weather conditions. While the pastel colors of the Maypole ribbons were not as vibrant and bright as usual, the U.G.H. dancers twisted them around the pole to make that ever so impressive, checkered pattern. We were even successful at performing the continued crowd favorite Holzhacker also known as the “Wood Chopping” dance. While the log was much more wet than usual, it stood no chance against us as we chopped and sliced through it like a piece of wurst. After all, in the old country a little bit of bad weather never stopped them from performing their daily tasks. After the men were finished, the women rang the bells around the Maypole almost in an attempt to break up the grey clouds themselves. Despite their best efforts, the rain continued but so did the dancing and music.
If you headed on inside Brauhaus Schmitz, you were sure to find a large majority of those attending the festival attempting to stay dry and warm. The beer was flowing just as fast, and the good times were no less exciting. In spite of the resilience of the festival goers outside, one couldn’t blame those inside for wanting to enjoy their time without getting Mother Nature involved.
As the afternoon went on, people continued to dance outside to Die Heimatklänge. Included amongst those were our dancers, who couldn’t seem to get enough. Some danced with their umbrellas, while others didn’t mind getting wet. Personally speaking, I chose the umbrella. As we all danced to the popular Fliegerlied, we were able to lose ourselves in the moment and forgot about the rain if just for a moment. It felt as if there were just as many people around the Maypole as there would have been on a sunny day of Maifests’ past. I believe this really showed the endurance of both our dance group and the people of Philadelphia. We could have easily just performed a dance or two and called it a day. The festival attendees could have easily chosen to spend the day inside curled up on their couches watching a movie. Instead, we were all together and persevered through the weather. The U.G.H. dancers performed all of our scheduled dances and the attendees loved it.
So, whether it was with a beer glass, a ribbon, or an umbrella raised high, I enjoyed my time at Maifest this year. You can be sure that rain or shine the German Hungarian dancers and the people of Philadelphia will be there again next year. Prost!
Joey Reiter
Featured image by Joseph P. Hartmann
Leica M10 Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 ASPH
ISO 200 50mm 0ev. f1.4. 1/500s
