With a rainy Austin City Limits weekend in sight, Austin Saengerrunde’s Austoberfest provides an indoor alternative and safe haven from the weather. The 14th annual event, taking place this Saturday, celebrates a mix of Austin and German culture with live music, sausage sampling, beer and bowling.
Founded in 1879 by German immigrants in Texas, the Austin Saengerrunde is Austin’s oldest ethnic organization. Austoberfest will take place near campus at Scholz Garten, America’s oldest beer garden and Texas’s oldest business. The Saengerrunde prides itself on its history, striving to blend its heritage and current home together.
“We’ve been around a long time, so we’re part of Austin history,” said Danielle Plecash, president of the Austin Saengerrunde Damenchor. “We purchased the property from Lemp (Brewing Company), who had purchased it from Scholz. … We really are proud of our German heritage, but also the role that we’ve played in Austin history and the property that we have been trying to preserve and keep this part of what makes Austin, Austin.”
Bret Britton, the organization’s previous president, was introduced to Austoberfest in 2013 after seeing a listing in The Austin Chronicle and quickly became involved.
“One thing I’ve always appreciated about the Saengerrunde is that it’s not about pretending that we’re in Germany,” Britton said. “Because we’re not. We’re in Texas. So what does it look like to celebrate German culture in Texas in a manner that is more consistent with the way people would have done it after moving here all those years ago.”
The event will feature live performances from Texan and Austin-based bands like Two Tons of Steel, Sour Bridges and Off the Grid, as well as DJ Vegan Leather, featured in The Rolling Stone.
The event’s activities and members of the Saengerrunde encourage all students to join and celebrate. UT alumna Tela Mange said that before becoming involved with the Saengerrunde, she didn’t speak any German.
“One of the things that is a lot of fun about Austoberfest is that it takes beer and sausage and music, which are international,” Mange said. “You don’t have to speak German to enjoy any of those things.”
Inside Scholz Garten, the German word “gemütlichkeit” remains painted across the fence wall.
“There’s no straight English translation for the word from German, but it means fellowship and camaraderie,” Plecash said. “That is something that I think the Austin Saengerrunde and Scholz do is try to inherently welcome people in.”