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October 10, 1999
Kids have a ball at OktoberfestBY TONY ZIEBOL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- It wasn't the Backstreet Boys, but Rebecca Rusert, 3, didn't seem to mind. While her older sister and mother were in Minneapolis to watch the teen heart-throbs, Rebekah, the daughter of Nathan Rusert of Truman, couldn't contain herself and was dancing to the sounds of New Ulm's own the Concord Singers. "Do you like the Backstreet Boys?," asked Jo Waldorf, Rebekah's grandmother. All Rebekah could do was smile. Right behind her was another young one, Claire Bath, 2, who was also groovin' to the sounds of polkas and waltzes, courtesy of the Concord Singers. "She likes to dance to it," said Mike Bath, Claire's father. "She gets a kick out of it." Mike Bath and his wife Jennifer brought their daughter all the way from Fargo, ND to visit relatives and enjoy Oktoberfest at the Holiday Inn Saturday. The kids certainly were enjoying the bands, but the adults had their fun as well. Taking a cue from the costumed Narren, the Poolside of the Holiday Inn was packed with clapping hands and dance-happy visitors. People followed each other in trains circling the crowd, dancing the whole way, and climaxing in a spiraling center on the dance floor in front of the stage, with their feet stomping the hard-wood floor. "The Concord Singers have been the best (band)," Nathan Rusert said. It's show was a hard act to follow, but Austria's Happy Hour tried its best to keep the people interested. However, it seemed as if the Narren were tired out after the performance of the Concord Singers, and they stayed close to the back of the crowd to get their second winds. "You didn't sing with us, what's the problem?," said Franc Derenda of Happy Hour, responding to the docile crowd. "You're not drunk, enough, huh?" That comment seemed to finally get the people back on track and back to dancing. Happy Hour's Miro Sevsek said this stop on their tour is more like a vacation than a regular gig. "We're having a good time," he said. "The people are nice. It's super." He also enjoyed getting a taste of different American beers. "I've never had this before," Sevsek said, pointed to the label of a Miller Genuine Draft can. "I like it, though. I liked that Schell's, too." After asking a young person what kind of music they listened to, Happy Hour's Robert Furor agreed with the answer. "I like rock 'n' roll, too, but this is what I play," Furor said, referring to the European folk music that the band usually plays. "It's a lot of fun (playing in this band)." Whatever people thought of the musical atmosphere of Oktoberfest at the Holiday Inn, the weather outside was exceptional -- almost too perfect when you consider it snowed during the first weekend of this year's events. "Last week (my kids and I) were building a snowman," Nathan Rusert said. "It's almost too nice to be inside today."
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