Yesterday was the first official day of Germanfest with an attendance of close to 15,000 people! It was a hot, bright sunny day full of beer, sausages, and pretzels!! Some folks came out decked out in festive German wear, kids could be seen blowing bubbles or getting balloon animals made for them, a Strong Man competition took place all day, and MANY people viewing the World Cup on one of the large tv’s throughout the fest. And let us not forget the bands and the many POLKAS that were played and the dancers dancing!! “Ziggy Zaggy Ziggy Zaggy Oi Oi Oi!!!” and my personal favorite of the day: the SPFD gave fire safety lessons!
There were many local food vendors, including: Shamrocks, Taste of Target Field, Rusty Taco, Anchor, Tot Boss, Sandy’s Grill, Claddagh Coffee, Bennett’s Chophouse, Totally Nuts, Mojo Monkey Donuts, and my favorite, Grand Ol’ Creamery (I’ll confess: I had a large waffle cone of peppermint bon bon icecream)!
Some of my fellow residents from the Schmidt Artist Lofts had booths, as well as about 20 other local vendors. I bought some art, and grabbed some information on others. I visited with a woman at the United Family Medicine Community Clinic for about 20 minutes, learning about their doctors as I am on the lookout for a new doc after moving to Saint Paul!
At dusk, the official Schmidt Sign Lighting Ceremony took place. There were some heartwarming stories about those that lived and worked in the community, and how the red schmidt sign welcomed you home on West 7th. As they said before lighting it “We’re home!!” and that’s exactly how I feel living here on West 7th in the Schmidt building!
But what was my lesson in all of this?? The West 7th Community is AMAZING! This event could not have taken place without the help and support of the community. I have no idea how many volunteers there were, but it was a LOT. With the support of 15,000 in attendance, I have to say it was an incredibly successful first day of the first ever Germanfest MN! I am honored to be a part of it and live/work in the community!
