Oktoberfest, a lively Bavarian tradition, was recently brought back to Harper College by the German Club and was held in Building A on Oct. 9th. This year’s celebration, the first since COVID-19, was revived to help connect students to Germany’s culture through a lively and traditional celebration on campus.
Dr. Tim Jon Semmerling and Elfreide Huegel led participants through German folklore songs, history, and dances. Dr. Semmerling takes German at Harper, and both of them are involved with local German organizations. They offered to talk to everyone about various aspects of Octoberfest traditions and cultures.
Harper Faculty Kim Jaeger, who teaches in the World Languages Department at Harper and is advisor to the German Club, educated students on the history of Oktoberfest.
According to Jaeger, Oktoberfest first started as a cultural tradition, that then became a festival.
“It was originally a wedding celebration, in the early 1810s,” said Jaeger. “A prince was getting married to a princess, and so they had this huge party with horse races and, of course, beer.”
Harper student Ozi Valladares said he enjoyed the event.
“I think it’s nice there’s a free event going on at Harper and it just aligned with my schedule,” Valladares said. “I really like the presenter who is singing the songs and teaching us the words. I think it’s really interesting.”
The event offered traditional Oktoberfest Bavarian pretzels and apple cider, which were supplied with help from Student Engagement. Apple cider was served as a campus-friendly alternative to traditional beer served at Oktoberfest.
Students interested in learning more about German culture are welcome to visit the German Club which meets on Wednesdays in L323 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Knowing German is not required.
German Club plans on sharing more about the culture through games, music, and talks with exchange students from Germany. Opportunities to learn their language and culture are being offered through Harper.
For those who wish to learn German, a beginner’s German language class in the Spring semester will be available. In addition, there will be a study abroad program that will bring students to Munich, Germany later in the Spring semester.
For future events, follow Harper Student Engagement, harperdeutsch & stay posted on our Instagram, harbstudentnews.
