The teachers who accompany the exchange students from the Akademisches Gymnasium high school in Salzburg — Julia Landa and Fritz Baier — confer with German 4 teacher Cindi Hodgdon about their Oktoberfest presentation to residents of the RiverMead retirement community this coming Friday.
“We will present on various topics like Tracht (traditional clothing), Geschichte (history), Essen (food), Sicherheit (security), etc. and then we will sing and dance, dressed in our Dirndl und Lederhosen,” said Cindi Hodgdon.
The Oktoberfest tradition dates back to 1810 when King Ludwig I of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and the residents of Munich were invited to celebrate their wedding with a multi-day festival that included horse races and food served in enormous festival tents. The king’s decision to repeat the horse races, spectacle, and celebrations in 1811 launched what is now the annual Oktoberfest tradition.
Today, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest “people’s festival” featuring music, food and drink, as well as a traditional traveling carnival. In Munich, Oktoberfest runs during the 16-18 days from mid September to October and attracts more than 6 million national and international visitors every year.