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The German-American and International Women’s Club Kaisers-lautern will sponsor a free concert Sept. 30, in cooperation with the Atlantic Academy Rheinland-Pfalz, to commemorate German-American Day.
The music group Baroque and Blue, with flutist Christiane Meininger, will present its new program “Americana,” with works by Georg Friedrich Händel, Roland Buchwald, Claude Bolling and Alan Weinberg at 5 p.m. in the SWR concert hall in Kaiserslautern.
“Alan Weinberg is an American composer, who lives in Columbia, S.C., the sister city of Kaiserslautern. He will lead through the program,” said Bruni Pütz, the club’s treasurer.
German-American Day is a reminder of Oct. 6, 1683, when 13 German families arrived near Philadelphia and founded Germantown, the first German settlement in the New World. In 1983, on the occasion of the “Tricentennial Anniversary of German Settlement in America,” former U.S. President Ronald Reagan declared Oct. 6 as “German-American Day.” In 1987, Congress enacted a law designating Oct. 6 as German-American Day. The official proclamation was issued by Reagan on Oct. 2, 1987, in a Rose Garden ceremony.
“Few people have blended so completely into the multicultural tapestry of American society and yet have made such singular economic, political, social, scientific and cultural contributions to the growth and success of these United States as have Americans of German extraction,” Reagan said in his proclamation.
“Twenty-five years later, many American families live in the region of Kaiserslautern where they have become friends with their German neighbors and enriched the multicultural tapestry of present-day Germany,” said Katie Pelletier, GAIWC president. “On German-American Day, we also would like to present a certificate of appreciation to Amy Peaceman, a teacher at Landstuhl Elementary/Middle School and the United Service Organizations Kaiserslautern for their commitment and work in the local community, fostering German-American relations.”
Pütz is hoping that in future years, German-American Day can be celebrated as a much bigger event and lure many people.
“I hope to be able to celebrate a German-American fest for the whole family in Kaiserslautern, which here is known as the American city,” Pütz said. “In my dreams, we’ll start it off with an American play in Pfalztheater and then have activities going on near the Rathaus and in the Casimir Castle right next to it.”
It’s the goal of the women’s club to make people aware of the German-American commemoration day.
“If you consider that many Americans have a German background, it’s just an obligation for us to bring both cultures together to celebrate,” said Caitlin Goodale-Porter, GAIWC vice president.
Currently, GAIWC has about 300 members, almost 70 percent of which are Germans.
“We are in desperate need of American members also to join our board level,” Goddale-Porter said. “They don’t have to speak German. They only should be interested in fostering friendship and promoting tolerance with cultures.”
One of the main annual events is the Pfennig Bazaar fundraiser. Profits are donated to German and American charities as well as school programs.
GAIWC is also involved in maintaining the kinder graves on the Kaiserslautern cemetery, where 451 American infants born in the 1950s are buried.
The club also offers a variety of interest groups such as foreign language classes, a discussion forum, art groups, culture groups, parent and children groups and youth groups. To become a new member or for more information on GAIWC, visit www.gaiwc.com or call Pelletier at 06383-9266018.
To join the concert, email info@atlantische-akaemdie.de or president@gaiwc.com. The concert, under the auspices of Kaiseslautern’s Lord Mayor Dr. Klaus Weichel, will be held in the concert hall of the Südwestrundfunk studio, Fliegerstrasse in Kaiserslautern.
