The Germania Maennerchor Volksfest is an annual German heritage festival that takes place each August in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, United States.

History

The festival is run by the Germania Maennerchor, which is a social and singing club founded in 1900 by Evansville area

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

from Germany. The first Volksfest was held in 1934. It was discontinued in 1941 when patriotic feelings stirred by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

turned public opinion against anything of German culture. It was revived in 1962 as part of Evansville's sesquicentennial celebration. The festival lasts over the course of 3 days and consists of German food, drink, dance, and music. Many attendees dress in old world German apparel . The festival also utilizes the historic Germania Mannerchor building which is complete with a

Rathskeller Ratskeller (German: "council's cellar", pl. ''Ratskeller'', historically ''Rathskeller'') is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall (''Rathaus'') or nearby. Many taverns, nightclubs, ba ...

, Festhalle. and outdoor

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

. The festival went on hiatus in 2020.

External links

Official Germania Maennerchor Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germania Mannerchor Volksfest Festivals in Indiana German-American culture in Indiana German-American history Festivals in Evansville, Indiana Cultural festivals in the United States