Language Department Hosts Stuyvesant’s First Oktoberfest

The Stuyvesant foreign language department celebrated Oktoberfest by hosting an event in its honor on Thursday, October 16. Oktoberfest, a Bavarian festival, runs from mid-September to the beginning of October. It is one of the world’s largest folk festivals and gives visitors the opportunity to eat traditional food while enjoying numerous activities.

Stuyvesant’s Oktoberfest celebration, which was held in the cafeteria, strived to showcase German culture. German and Bavarian flags were hung up. “There was German music playing in the hallway all day long. There were German songs, poetry, and videos. There was lots and lots of German food,” Assistant Principal of World Languages Dr. Ernest Oliveri said.

German teacher Rebecca Lindemulder was in charge of planning and organizing the event. “We wanted to give the German students a chance to experience a bit of German culture first-hand and participate in a long-standing Bavarian tradition,” Lindemulder said in an e-mail interview. “We wanted to open it up to all students in order to educate our fellow students on the festival and also give everyone the chance to experience German culture and Gemütlichkeit, the concept of coziness, contentedness, comfort, and relaxation, and enjoying a good, fun time with friends with food and drink, all together.”

Many German students also helped prepare for the event by making decorations and cooking food. “At Oktoberfest we had Bratwurst, Chicken Schnitzel, Frikadellen, Kaesespaetzle (something close to a German version of mac and cheese), potato pancakes, sauerkraut, potato salad, apple cake, and a few other things,” Lindemulder said.

Dr. Oliveri and Lindemulder were generally pleased with the enthusiasm students showed at the event. “Everyone was having a good time and there were many people there,” Dr. Oliveri said. They are planning to continue holding it in coming years.

The foreign language department has plans to have many more cultural events. Some of the upcoming events include “Día de los Muertos” on November 1 and 2, a performance by the German band “Die Lochis” on December 4, and Japan Day on May 3. “[The goal is] to bring more culture and exposure to the students of Stuyvesant,” Dr. Oliveri said.