German-American Steuben Parade
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The German-American Steuben Parade is an annual Parade held in various cities across the United States. The New York City parade is held every third Saturday in September. It was founded in 1957 by German-American immigrants who, being part of the largest ethnic group in the United States, wanted to keep the traditions of their homeland alive. The Philadelphia parade is normally held every forth Saturday in September; it was founded in 1970.
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[edit] History
The first Steuben Parade was held in the Ridgewood section of Queens, where many German immigrants lived. Over the years, as the event grew bigger and drew an ever larger number of spectators, the Parade was moved to Fifth Avenue. To this day it starts at 64th Street moving uptown to 86th Street. The Parade finale on 86th Street has a special meaning for German-Americans, as that street and the entire Yorkville neighborhood was home to many German immigrants between the first half of the 20th century until the 1970s. The neighborhoods most important street - 86th Street - was lovingly called "Sauerkraut Boulevard" and hosted many German-American establishments, ranging from coffeeshops and restaurants to dancehalls.
[edit] Von Steuben and the Parade
The Parade was named by its founders after Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian General who served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Von Steuben is still regarded as one of the most important German-Americans, as his training of the young American troops made victory against the British possible and thus his work helped in gain independence for the United States of America.
However, the German-American Steuben Parade is not a Parade in the military tradition. Every year it is led by cadets representing the German Language Club of the Military Academy of West Point, which was founded by General von Steuben. But the rest of the about three hour long Parade is dominated by traditional German brass music groups and marching bands, by clubs and organization wearing traditional German Tracht, as well as by carnival groups, marksmen or other traditions. For many years, the Parade has had a strong Bavarian theme and was dominated by men wearing Lederhosen, women in Dirndl and groups dancing the traditional Schuhplattler. Recently though, the Parade opened up to represent more German themes.
[edit] Grand Marshal and Guest of Honor
Every year, the German-American Steuben Parade is led by two dignitaries: The Grand Marshal is an American with a distinct German background, while the Guest of Honor is a German with a distinct relationship to America.
In 2007, celebrating the 50th Anniversary German-American Steuben Parade, the Grand Marshal is former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who was born in the Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany. The Guest of Honor is former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who is known to have a deep personal friendship towards America. In many speeches throughout his career, Dr. Kohl has mentioned how grateful he was when, as a hungry school boy in post-war Germany, he received food from American GIs.
Over the years the Steuben Parade has had many distinguished Germans and Americans leading the Parade. Former Grand Marshals were Donald Trump, Siegfried & Roy, George Steinbrenner, Carol Alt, Eric Braeden, John Roland, Louis Freeh, as well as many politicians without a personal German background but a great appreciation of the German culture. Among those were Michael Bloomberg, Rudolph Giuliani and George Pataki.
Among the Guests of Honor are three German presidents: Walter Scheel, Richard von Weizsäcker and Johannes Rau, as well as other dignitaries from the political and economical field, including governors Erwin Teufel, Kurt Biedenkopf and Bernhard Vogel.
[edit] Parade events
While the German-American Steuben Parade itself is held on the third Saturday in September, starting at noon, there are other festivities all weekend. Usually, up to 35 music and costume groups from overseas are greeted at City Hall Park on Friday preceding the Parade. On the eve of the Parade a Gala Benefit Banquet is held at the New York Hilton Hotel & Towers.
The Parade itself leads directly to the German-American Friendship Party in Central Park. This is the largest beer fest in New York, featuring many German brand on tap as well as traditional German food such as bratwurst.
[edit] German-American Friendship Month
Aside from the Parade, September is host to many German and German-American cultural events. They range from a Johann Strauss Gala in Carnegie Hall to a Jazz concert with German born pianist "Vana" Gierig, from a pop-art event with Berlin and New York based artist Jim Avignon to a German cartoon exhibition. There are also events celebrating the historic aspect of German-American traditions, like a Walking Tour through Little Germany Kleindeutschland on New York's Lower East Side or a tour through the Tenement Museum there.
[edit] Logo
The cornflower is the official flower and the logo of the German-American Steuben Parade of New York City. The founders of the Parade found the cornflower the appropriate symbol for the event, as it widely grows in both Germany and the United States. Also, the color blue symbolizes friendship and hope.
[edit] Organization
The Parade and all related events are organized by the German-American Steuben Parade Committee. Since 2005, the Committee is led by General Chairman Lars Halter, and three Vice Chairmen, Geraldine Brand, Thomas Hacker and Herb Seeff. The membership of the Committee consists of representatives of a multitude of German-American organizations from the New York metropolitan area, some of them having been involved in the founding of the Parade in 1957.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website of the Steuben Parade of New York
- Official Website of the Steuben Parade of Philadelphia
- German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, DC
- 2007 Flyer and Program
