Fargo, North Dakota.

Ours is a country of immigrant descendents and celebrations of our grandparent’s national heritage are held every year throughout the United States. In the upper midwest, Norwegian and Germanic people are common and annual celebrations such as Norsk Hostfest and the German Folk Festival attract a wide variety of people interested in the culture and heritage of their ancestors. In the opening photo, the Bockfest Boys feature classical Germanic music.

This summer, we stopped by one such festival, the annual German Folk Festival sponsored by Fargo Parks District. The one-day event featured traditional music, crafts, and presentations. Of course, a beer garden and German-American foods were available for purchase. Two featured beers were Weihenstephan Hefe Wheat and Weihenstephan Original Lager.

One presentation featured a blacksmithing demonstration using historically correct equipment. The team took turns demonstrating the creation of craft items. As this photo was taken, they just started up again after taking a lunch break. We chose not to sample lunch, though we did have a German Apple Kuchen. The lines for the food vendors were very long (which made it look like not so much was happening elsewhere during our visit.)

Of course, food choices were from an authentic menu, several vendors offering Bratwurst and Kraut, Potato Dumplings, Knoephla Soup, Potato Salad and others. Kuchen is always a favorite, literally translated a sweet cake, often similar to the American Coffee Cake, usually containing fruit.

This one-day festival is not a major draw like some of the others around the country, but for those interested, the Fargo German Folk Festival is a memory of parents or grandparents and their ancestral homeland. I submit for your review, a gallery of images gathered during our stay at the German Folk Festival. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

Accordion presentation and demonstration.

Concertina display.

Holiday crafting in July.

Who can resist a German Polka?

The Bockfest Boys.

Relaxing to the music on a nice summer day.

Blacksmith Demonstration

Music at the garden.

Another shot of the band.

John Steiner