European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 03, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Focus it fest aiierna1m Story and photos by Joseph Owen Stuttgart Bureau Fin profit Ein profit to c chant rattled the timbers of each brer half Abou our or five times an hour rolling Forth from fast goers otherwise occupied with Beer. It is .1 Toast to Good , which seems to be a required ingredient for navigating the Castatter Volks fast in Stuttgart. The festival is in full swing now and will t ont inc daily until oct. 13 at the festival grounds in the Banks of the Neckar River in bad Canstatt a neighbourhood scaled on the Northeast Side in Stuttgart. The Volk fest began last saturday although some bleary eyed fest goers appear to have been celebrating Ever since the annual event was established 140 years ago. Several key adjectives come to mind in describing the festival colourful loud familiar bizarre wet exotic and Exira Afcin Are among them. Many of those modifiers apply to the participating local breweries. They seem to have the most influence on the fest environment just As their counterparts do at Munich s oktoberfest a Bash occurring simultaneous about 125 Miles to the East. Two breweries sent highly decorated horse drawn Beer wagons to the opening Day of the fair. Another brewery festooned a fire truck with samples of its products and a fourth launched a Silver and Green hot air balloon emblazoned with its Trade name. All four of he breweries operate Beer Halls raucous bastions of levity whose patrons arc divided into two groups the complacent majority who drink their Beer and the roaring minority who Wear it. Manfred Rommel the durable mayor of soul tart and son of famed world War ii German held marshal Erwin Rommel opened the Volk fest on saturday morning with a speech which included a Long inventory of the City s physical and cultural assets yet managed to please the crowd anyway marching bands dancers and Bora groups from the greater Stuttgart area aug punctuated the festival s debut. Then the pet formers yielded to i to Connoy of shouting Midway hucksters haunted House sound effects Beer Hall bands Bone railing rot k n Roll and the squeals of patrons who Bravid the stomach churning rides. Two guests already had participated in another can stutter Volk fest this year a 123-year-old festival held in Watchung n.j., on labor Day weekend. Immigrants from Baden Wurttemberge stage the new Jersey event and a similar one in Philadelphia said Peter w. Vas Silliere of the Castatter Volk Fesl Verein a club boasting some 150 members in new York and new Jersey. He said the american events focus on swabian cuisine and other regional traditions More than the Stuttgart version docs. Vas Silliere and club president Werner Miller attended the Stuttgart festival attired in Gold dinner jackets with their club s Crest. We Don t come each year but we have been coming regularly every two or three years since we emigrated said Vas Silliere who moved to the United states in 1903. Most other Volk fest visitors came from places not so far away although he Distant e Between the festival activities and the nearest available parking space makes the trip seem longer. All things considered travelling to the festival grounds on Stuttgart s Public transit system is a better bet. Finding a place to sit in the hour Halls can be a headache. The larger breweries will Reserve tables in their Halls in Advance for a fee but some of the Choice nights Are booked solid. Out of town visitors should t have As much trouble finding lodging As they would at the Otobe rfcs in Munich however because much of the clientele is local. Hours Are 1 . To 11 p/n., monday through Friday 11 . To 11 . Saturday and sunday. Telephone numbers or the Beer Halls and other information can be obtained by calling the information office it the Stuttgart Haupt Bohnhof 0711-2228240 or 0711-2228241. October 3,1935 stripes Magazine
