Germanfest Picnic canceled, but new event being planned
One of the region’s largest festivals has been canceled, but organizers say all is not lost.
Dayton Liederkranz-Turner has canceled its Germanfest Picnic set for Aug. 14-16 at RiverScape MetroPark in downtown Dayton, said president John Koerner, the event’s chair and club’s president. Instead, the club’s board voted Tuesday to hold a much smaller event, Germanfest Picnic Lite, those same days at the Liederkranz facility, 1400 E. Fifth St. in St. Anne’s Hill.
Details of the new smaller-scale event are still being worked out, but Koerner said much of the food and drink that has made the festival one of Dayton’s favorites over the years will be available on site those days. The event also will include virtual elements.
Some popular elements of the annual festival will not be included in this year’s event. There will be no bands, additional food trucks or vendors due to health restrictions.
“We wanted to keep the name because that’s how people know us,” he said. “Obviously it is not the same thing as having the (RiverScape) grounds, the bands and all the food trucks, so we call it ‘lite.’”
Heading into its 37th year, GermanFest Picnic is a major annual fundraiser to support maintenance and operation of the Liederkranz-Turner, Dayton’s oldest German society. Koerner said food including the festival’s signature German potato salad and schnitzel will be sold for carryout and to be eaten in areas to be set up around the club.
“You will be able to sit down under the guidance allowed and enjoy some of our famous food and drink,” he said. “It is important for some of us who are very involved in this thing that we don’t lose momentum.”
There may be a virtual mass, 5K and fashion show.
Organizers are hoping to add links to popular craft vendors to its website, Koerner said. A full Germanfest Picnic is planned for Aug. 13-15, 2021.