Heritagefest heads into final day

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Because the annual parade provides a rousing finish to Heritagefest, officials are hoping that the weather will cooperate today in providing the perfect atmosphere for the 100-unit parade.

Noting that the parade is particularly weather-sensitive, Heritagefest Director Leo Berg said hot, humid conditions can be almost as damaging to parade attendance as a rainstorm.

"Hot, humid weather surely is not inviting to standing or sitting outside to view a parade," Berg said. "While it doesn't appear that we're going to have any rain, we're concerned that it won't be too hot or humid either."

This weekend's Heritagefest activities had the distinction of starting off with thundershowers. Both storms hit just at opening, causing a brief delay Friday when .37 inch fell but a one-hour delay in opening Saturday when .72 inch of rain was recorded.

Berg said Friday's attendance was down from previous years because "a number of people probably decided to come out Saturday rather than take a chance on the weather Friday."

His analysis late Saturday afternoon was that the morning thunderstorm didn't cut attendance appreciably.

"We didn't open until noon because we didn't want to take a chance of stuff being blown around the neighborhood," he explained. "That really doesn't sit too well with the neighbors. Also, we didn't want to double our work of setting everything out and then having to haul it back in and put it out again. But we had everything up and running by 1 p.m., and the tents weren't a problem because they are built to withstand 60 mile-an-hour winds."

Besides, nobody could really complain because the 1.09 inches of rain was the first significant rainfall this month.

This year's parade will have added significance because Berg will serve as Grand Marshall. Berg is retiring at the end of this year as Heritagefest's executive director after serving 27 years in that post. Kathleen Backer will take over those duties in 2002.

Although some pre-performance events are planned, starting at 11:30 a.m., the parade which starts at 12:30 p.m. is the first event of the day. (See the parade route map on Page 3A)

Following the parade, entertainment starts at Rosen North and Edelweiss South at 2 p.m., Bayerwald at 2:15 p.m., Wintergarten at 3 p.m. and Kinderfest at 2:45 p.m. The 2001 Heritagefest closes at 10:30 p.m.

A Day 5 Potpourri

The Concord Singers showed again Saturday why they are without a doubt the most popular attraction at Heritagefest. The group of two dozen-strong male singers from the New Ulm area presented a musical smorgasbord of songs which emphasized German Mannerchor numbers.

Singing to an audience which nearly filled to capacity the Rosen North tent, they interspersed lively music with humor. A crowd favorite was the chant, "Zicke, Zacke, Zicke, Zacke -- Hoi, Hoi, Hoi." Then, they sang they sang a song, inviting audience participation with drummer Dick Wilbrecht holding up a cue card with the chorus -- "LaLaLaLaLaLa". They ended their one-hour performance with "Auf Wiedersehn."

In the Arts and Crafts pavilion, Holzschnitzerei (wood carver) Rudolf Tanner of Muhlhausen, Germany, created wood sculptures as spectators examined finished works.

For Tanner, it was his fifth year at Heritagefest. He had been in the States three weeks and is returning to his home following the festival's close.

Three women from the Twin Cities area had what they felt was the most practical arts and craft item, "Cool Down All Around Ties." They sew strips of cloth into slender tubes in which non-toxic crystals are inserted. These are then soaked in water which is absorbed by the crystals, keeping the ties moist and cool up to 10 days.

"They can be wrapped around the head or draped over your shoulders and they really keep you cool," said Diane Segler of Bloomington. Her partners are Kim Segler of Big Lake and Myrna Strenge of Buffalo.

Kinderfest is, as the name suggests, strictly for kids. In addition to objects to paint or dunk in dyes, kids (and parents) can watch the hand-puppet show at the Park and Recreation Department's Puppet Wagon. Drawing the most attention, however, are the musical antics of Ross Sutter of Minneapolis, a fellow who says he "was a music major who discovered I really didn't want to teach full-time." So, for the past 20 years, he has traveled around the state to various schools, presenting his message to kids by way of music and games. He's also taken his act to Minot, N.D., Wisconsin and Germany. This is his fourth year at Heritagefest.

During his program, he teaches kids about "squeeze boxes," small concertina-like instruments. Mainly, he teaches values through his music.

Sutter marvels about the impact his song, "When I first came to this land, I was not a wealthy man," has had through his career. It's a song that goes on and on with a number of verses, he said.

While he was preparing for his afternoon show, a teacher from Burnsville, Maggie Tjaden of Vista View school stopped to tell him that they still sing the song at her school.

"Why, that was a long, long time ago that I was there," Sutter marveled. Sutter says he is hired in a way as a consultant to schools to help them maintain young students' interest.

If you're looking for lederhosen, alpine hats or authentic Dirndl dresses, the place to go is the Bergland Trachten Ltd. booth across from the arts and crafts pavilion.

Run by Christel and Bruce Cloyd of Haysville, Kans., the firm creates its own Dirndl dresses.

"We're the only source for these dresses for groups in the country," Bruce Cloyd said.

At the other end of the exhibit area, Icelandair has its promotion booth. While it may seem unusual for an airline to be exhibiting at a community festival, Winsome Chance, marketing coordinator for North America, said, "We had a lot of success with festivals."

This is Icelandair's third year as a sponsor of Heritagefest, and the airline also participates in "three or four" other community festivals in Minnesota, she said.

"We offer very competitive rates, a lot of different packages and a stop over of up to three days in Iceland at no additional air fare on our flights from Minneapolis to Frankfurt," she explained. "It's working very well for us."