A toast to Germany!
State’s German American Cultural Society holds Oktoberfest over weekend
PAWTUCKET — The German American Cultural Society on Carter Avenue over the weekend was transformed to a Bavarian Ratskeller as the tapped kegs and Alpine horns signified the yearly German Oktoberfest celebration.
Society President Paul Pouliot said that the yearly celebration of German culture has been going strong for well over 30 years. He said the culture is “entrenched” in the Carter Avenue club, calling Oktoberfest “the largest festival we have. It's a big party.”
“We do it because we get to show off,” Pouliot said. “Our dancers, our original food – we have a butcher from Connecticut who gets his seasonings from Germany and makes the wurst just for us.”
Among the delicious Bavarian delicacies available at
the weekend celebration were speciallymade sausages including bratwurst, knackwurst, weisswurst, brats, and leberkase. In addition to the meats, festival volunteers prepared more than 400 pounds of sauerkraut and 450 pound of potatoes for potato pancakes and potato salad, all of which was made on site at the Carter Avenue social club.
The food, he said, is one of the biggest factors as to why people keep coming back year after year.
“You can go to any deli and get meats but nothing comes close to here,” Pouliot said with pride.
With the festival well into its third decade, Pouliot says it's the combination of tradition and evolving with the times that has made GACS' Oktoberfest such a huge annual hit.
“We've seen increased popularity over the last four years. We went electronic, many of the board members are well-versed online and on social media,” he said. “But we also added more original German bands, people want to come in and take pictures with us in our garb. It's promoting our culture.”
“I get people who bring their families and people who plan their vacations around it,” he said with a chuckle. “It's quite an endeavor to put together.”
Even though it's an exhausting process to plan Oktoberfest and see it to fruition, when the band struck at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon, and the sounds of authentic German music filled the club and spilled out onto Carter Avenue, it was all worth it for Pouliot.
The two-day celebration featured authentic German food, music, dancing, singing, and beer. The Bavarian Brothers Band got things started on Saturday afternoon compete with their Alpine horn. The SGTV Alpenblumen Schuhplattlers performed a variety of authentic folk dances, ranging from the wild foot-stomping and heel-slapping to the more elegant glides and spins. Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon featured Alpenblumen Musikanten, an authentic Bavarian band complete with energy, skill, and plenty of cowbell.
Pouliot also said that despite Oktoberfest being their signature yearly event, the GACS is about more than drinking. They offer German language lessons, Bavarian dancing classes, and a German-speaking choir. Additionally, they have a library with more than 1,200 books – written in German – on site.