German Fest is back; three days of authentic food and entertainment

She's going to be so much fun to have in studio. OK, it is a polka party weekend along Milwaukee's lakefront. German Fest is back. Y'all Meijer Festival Park will be packed with authentic food, entertainment, vendors, people out there. Brian Kramp is already outside giving us a preview and telling us why it's grown over four decades to become one of the biggest German festivals in the country. Brian, you are right where we want to be. Yeah, definitely too. We had a little bit of a breeze off the lake here. I'll dig on. I mean, that's awesome. You needed some some reprieve, if you will, from the last couple. Steel Timber Sports is back. The Hotsaw Showdown tonight. We have Nate and Matt in the background there. I think they did a little warm up there because they're going to be doing the Hotsaw competition later on tonight, and we're going to see that unfold live. German Fest is back, and clearly so is Steel Timber Sports. My goodness, this starts at what time later on today? I believe 730. You know, we were talking about polka. We're talking about food. We're talking about German traditions a little bit, and apparently this is also now part of the German Fest tradition. It is part of our tradition, and it's their 100th anniversary this year. Oh my gosh, I think they're ready to go. So look at these chainsaws. You don't have one of these at home, do you? Sure. My steel is my son's plastic one that he got when he was three, which is ironic. All right, they're going to do a countdown, I believe right now, and then they're going to go at it. OK, this is how they work into the start of the competition. This is so cool. And to your timber. Oh my gosh, is this so cool to be on the stage? All right. One, go. How awesome was that? That's so cool. That is so cool. I mean, that took all of about like eight seconds, maybe less than that. All right. So who is the world champ out of you guys? Who's the world champ right now? I'm calling it. I know these guys are neck and neck without a doubt. We have two big competitors here in the sport, Steel Timber Sports. Why do you guys keep coming bringing these guys back for German Fest? Because they're part of our family now. Yeah, apparently. I mean, that tradition is steep, obviously, you know, in generations of people that have been coming here for the 44 years. I can take my earplug out right now because we're not going to be hearing that. But it is so cool to see these guys. And I know we're going to talk to a female that actually is part of this competition later on. What can we look forward to and when does it start for German? Tonight, three o'clock, 515 is our opening ceremony when we have a huge surprise at our opening ceremony. So please, if you can make it down, we have a great opening is amazing anyways, but huge surprise. Yeah, it will be live streamed as well. And then, of course, Vox Club is our I call them our Backstreet Boys of Germany, that they're back tonight and tomorrow night only at 945 at the Miller stage. OK, so doing Polka Mass on Sunday morning with the Archbishop and, of course, our ducks in Germany, Backstreet Boys of Germany and Polka Mass plus chainsaws and axes. This is German Fest. German Fest Milwaukee is back later on today. Deb, always great seeing you guys. Thank you. Good luck tonight in the hot saw competition. He'll toss it back to you. I really want to be a part of the chainsaw competition. I don't know what of those three are more excited for. I don't know for real. I'm not even like a really archbishop polka mask. Come on, let me tell you something. It goes to show you so many people have layers to them, you know? Traditional Sunday mass with a polka twist to a ceremonial keg tapping. This weekend's German Fest is packed with all kinds of rich culture and celebration for the ages. I think that might be the Backstreet Boys of Germany. We just had up on screen there, Kramp. They got it all going on this weekend. Tell us more. I'm not going to let up on that either. I'm in full steam ahead with the Backstreet Boys of Germany because that's something that I want to hear. And you might be laughing, Eric, but in all honesty, a lot of people are coming a long way to be a part of this, not only to see them, but for you guys as well. Congratulations on another year. Forty four. You started doing this and not running, obviously, the whole festival, but a part of it when you were a teenager. That's the tradition. That German Fest has. Yeah, yeah. Multiple generations. Yeah. People working with their Omas and Opas and then their kids are working, too. So now it's great grandmas and great grandfathers. Yeah. This city, I mean, you know, German culture here for years really has been a part of Milwaukee. You know, I mean, it's so much more than just the beer, you know, the industry as well. You know, you and I were talking about just naturalization papers, you know, for my own family and seeing those. And and what it means to be able to still obtain them. But really, you're coming down here to celebrate that. And without them coming to the states, coming to Wisconsin, we wouldn't have that. And you have some ties also, too, with your family as founders of nearby city. Yeah, you're absolutely right. My family has been here since the 1830s. Yeah. And obviously we're Americans, right? Right. We've always held that German heritage. Yeah. And it was those families that came together to form German Fest so that the whole city could have something to celebrate. Yeah. And I love the cultural village over here as they're setting it up to, you know, you have everything from staged villages back in Germany to the groups in the clubs, if you will, to also that that authentic gear and that they're wearing. Families get into this, not just the dancers. Right. You're going to see the, you know, the Lederhosen. Right. Do you have yours ready to go? Is it clean? My Lederhosen is ready to go. Ready to go. You have one or two just in case. I've got two. You've got to have a backup. Well, I've got short and I've got long. Just in case how cold it gets in Wisconsin. I respect that. As we're walking through, though, I can see that, you know, we have some stuff set up, but also the vendors. Look at the woodworking that's done. Really, again, back to that authenticity from Germany, even though this is a local woodwork. Right. Yeah. These are local artisans, but they are continuing to preserve sort of that woodworking culture that came over from Germany. Yeah. What does it mean to you to know that this is continuing, that you guys are successful at it and that that the volunteers love it and do it because of that tradition? Yeah, I'm I'm proud of the tradition. Yeah, I'm glad to uphold it. And I want it to continue. And I want my kids to get involved as well. Right. I think you guys are doing a good job of that, of keeping it going from generation to generation. Sometimes you're going to see the two to three, maybe even four down here, which is impressive, you know, for one family or for many families. Fox Local for more information. As you can see, this family is ready to go. We got more wake up when we come back after the break. German Fest, though, kicks off later on today and goes all weekend long here in Milwaukee. For me, it's like they moved on. OK, I guess we're going back. It feels like an alien planet. Please go if you ever get the chance. German Fest opens today at Meijer Festival Park. It features folk dancing, international headlining acts, bringing everything from polka and modern tunes to Milwaukee. And Brian Cramp is down on the grounds with a sneak peek at the weekend's fun. Let me cue the accordion. Yeah, oh, you heard it too, Carl, right? You know, I think they're on point with that. It was already going and the song mark is the househammer, the househammer, which is actually a city city. OK, so there you go. You know, this is the part of German Fest that I love. You can take the food and you can take the drinks. But when it comes to the tradition and when it comes to the families, this speaks volumes about the work that you guys are doing behind the scenes to make this happen. So thank you. I know a lot of work goes into it. Absolutely. This this dance group is this is the Oberlandler Schupletler group from Milwaukee. OK, one of three that we have in Milwaukee and they're doing the traditional Schupletler dance. OK, it's to mimic the Auerhorn bird who is attempting to woo the ladies as the ladies spin and play hard to get. But eventually they pick them up and they get to waltz together. Yeah, I was going to say, maybe not as hard to get back in the day. A little bit easier. This is such a fun time for you guys, too, because it all culminates to this three day weekend of German traditions here. And there is so much, too. You know, we've talked about the polka mass a little bit. Breach that. But I don't know the details. What is a polka mass? So a polka mass is a traditional Roman Catholic service. And it's instead of like your typical music that you'd see in a church service, it's replaced with waltz and polka music. Yeah, I think that's all it needs to be said. You know that now we need to witness it to believe it. Yes. If you haven't seen one, this is your time. If you didn't have faith beforehand, that's going to really send you over the edge. Absolutely. Without a doubt, too. It's the accordions, but it's so much more than the accordions. You know, you have big name bands coming in. The Vox Club. Yes. Right. Acapella singers all the way from Germany. Talk about those guys and some of the other entertainment. So the Vox Club group is a group that plays traditional German music that's mixed with more pop and rock. And they have just kind of done that conglomeration. And appeal to all sorts of different people. We have a bunch of different bands from six different states, a lot of in the Midwest. And then we also have our dance groups. We have our Dachshund derbies on Sunday. We have the very popular Glockenspiel. Yeah, we have. I saw it set up back there, too. And so what happens on stage at the Glockenspiel? So the Glockenspiel is basically a live action cuckoo clock. Yeah. So they have their music and the dancers come out and they do kind of the motions as you would see a cuckoo clock. And every show is different. You know, we haven't talked about beer at all yet. So so give it to me. When does the keg get tapped? The keg tapping is during the opening ceremonies, which start at 515. Yeah. And it'll be about a half hour in. So it's towards the end of that. Yeah. So make sure that you get to hear everybody's hard work that they've done. Yeah. And then afterwards you get a beer. Well, we appreciate it. Like I said, that hard work goes into a tradition here down in the festival grounds. Forty four years. Pretty impressive. German Fest is back this weekend. And yes, if you have the lederhosen, you can you can wear them, don them, but maybe bring an extra one just in case you get some beer on it. Yeah. During that tapping. Mark, great genius. Yeah, it happens. It's impossible not to enjoy polka music. I know. Just get moving. I want the outfit. OK, we're having some. Well, we've been hearing about the fun all morning and seeing some of the entertainment options. And now the German Backstreet Boys have arrived. Brian Cramp joining us at German Fest. And Brian, I do not want to say shush, shush, shush to this next act. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I'll tell you what. You know, I didn't mean this about all of you guys, because that singing was actually a lot better from what we heard earlier on. But I will say this. I want to hear these guys singing a little bit here. Mark, this is one of those bands, groups, I should say, that when they come into town, they are going to get attention from people that are walking by. You know, once you see and hear them perform. Tell me a little bit more about the mainstay acts here at German Fest and what we can expect. OK, so we have we have groups from six different states. We have a number of bands that play traditional polka music, Oktoberfest music mixed in with a little bit of American music. Sometimes we get kind of this mishmash. And the group that we have here today is Fox Club. And they are from Germany. They combine the traditional German music with more of pop and rock to kind of bring old meets new. And it's a really cool sound. Yeah. When I saw him earlier on, I was like, I want to see this. I want to hear this. I want all of it. I'm I'm on board for all of it. So without further ado, do you want to introduce them? Sure. OK, this is Fox Club. So you rock me. Hey, there we go. OK, let's go. When the Maibaum stands at the village square again And everything revolves around the girls When they show their hot tits And we push our eyes in Let's go, now it's time again Let's go, nothing will be lost today Come on, show me a little bit I want to know a little bit Rock me, just a little bit A dance with the windmills Or what do you prefer? Rock me, just a little bit Look me in the eyes, little one You are a very fine one Rock me, just a little bit Turn around, turn around Until the village square comes Settle down, settle down Whoa, there you go, Mark. I can see why this is going to be one of the headliners over here at German Fest here. Rock Me, Vox Club. What time are they performing? They are performing at nine o'clock on the Miller stage, both nights, Friday and Saturday. So you can come and see them. They will be rocking the house. They definitely will. Great seeing you again. Guys, congratulations on all the success. You got 13 years. They've been doing what they're doing. This is the second time that they're going to be performing here at German Fest. As you heard, Mark, they're going to be coming up very soon here. Everything kicks off at what time today here at the Festival Grounds, Mark? 3 p.m. And of course, there'll be plenty of food and beverages and more singing and dancing down here at German Fest. Guys, safe travels. Can't wait to see you perform at German Fest. Back to you in the studio. I don't know what my expectations were, but that was through the roof. They were so good. The acapella surprised me there. Honestly, they sucked. Elite lumberjacks and lumberjills from around the nation are going to go head to head this weekend here at German Fest. Not us on either side of that. Brian Cramp has a preview of tonight's thrilling the Steel Timbersports Hotsaw Showdown. I'll tell you what, these are definitely athletes here. And when you're holding an axe like that, I'm going to step back a little bit. Samantha, great to see you again. And I'm glad that the sheath is on that axe there. When it comes to timber sports, you know, one of the impressive things that which we saw earlier on with the chainsaws is that there's a lot of wood flying around, right? There's a lot of axes. There's a lot of chainsaws. There's a lot of noise. But usually it's guys doing this from my perspective. But you are one. That's a silver medal winner. You've been doing this for 10 years. How did you get into timber sports to begin with? What was the first axe that you had, I guess? Yeah, so I started in college. It's one of the sports teams at the school I went to, Paul Smith. So I started there, you know, chopped four years there. And then once I graduated, I wanted to keep going. So I started with some smaller, you know, pro-am shows and then, you know, moved on to steel timber sports five years ago, I think. OK, well, I'll tell you what. We you know, we saw these big blocks. That's the sound I can make with a chainsaw pretty easily. How easy is it to cut into the wood? You know, as we're talking about that, we'll look at some video as well. Is it does it go pretty smooth? It can. Yeah. Yeah. You have to be pretty precise with your hits and then, you know, a little bit of power behind it. So if you have a good mix of those two things, it can go pretty smooth. Well, I also noticed as you were doing that, that it's quite aggressive, too. So you have to be able to swing the axe. How much does that weigh? They weigh mine, weigh probably around five pounds. OK. And then on the wood down here, you can see that you kind of have it marked off. That's where you're going to hit. The idea is what to hit in between those marks is that are right on them. Yeah, those are you want to hit kind of right on them. You know, things change a little bit as the block opens up. But, you know, those are guides for the fastest way to get through the block. OK. And what kind of wood is this? You know, it smells wonderful. This is white pine. It smells great. I want to be all around white pine. Now, today, later on, you're you're in the hot saw competition. How do you prepare for that? First, you have to you have to prepare your your chainsaw. Yep. Right. But how do you mentally prepare for an event like that? I've just been trying to remind myself I've done it a hundred times. So, yeah. Yeah. I, you know, practice on a little bit bigger wood. This is a little bigger than what I normally would put on. So just trying to get those reps in. Yeah. But you got the lights. You got the energy of the crowd. I mean, you have the sounds. It's a little bit different from just doing your like spare time. Practicing, isn't it? Yeah. It's a little different than the backyard where I just have my husband back there cheering me on. So the energy definitely is there. Yeah. OK. Don't worry about it. I'm sure hundreds of people will cheer you on. Welcome back to German Fest. Always great to see you, Samantha. I know we've hooked up a couple of times in the past for interviews. And and this is the piece of wood that she was chopping during that video. She's going to be sawing away later on today here. This steel timber sports back to German Fest once again here. And they're celebrating 100 years. How cool is that? Thanks, Samantha. Thank you. On the big stage, too. Thus yet, you got a German accent. You want to bust out for this? I really don't. OK. All right. Well, one of Milwaukee's largest lakefront cultural traditions gets ready to open its gates for a whole weekend full of authentic heritage, music and food. Brian Cramp is at German Fest with details on everything you need to know from start to finish. And from start, which is what time today? Eric, three o'clock, three o'clock to finish, which is what time? Seven o'clock on Sunday. There you go. You're going to have probably plenty of options to try some amazing food. You know, we talked about the food being such a big thing earlier on this morning. But really, there's more than just food when it comes to German Fest. And this is the tradition for a lot of families with four decades worth being on the grounds. I mean, sometimes you have three to four generations of family members here. Right. Yeah. And they've built memories over those entire 44 years that we've been going. And it's crazy for years. Right. And we get people from all over the country who are like, I got to be here for German Fest. Yeah, it's been great for us. You know, it was interesting to hang out with Samantha earlier on today and to see her with the axe and how that's become a tradition. Right. German Fest as well. I think families expect that. There's a thrill to see that. But then there's a thrill to be on stage and to perform as well. Yeah. Not just for those that are in the timber sports, for those that are dancing, that are performing. You know, you are coming all the way from Germany to perform here. Yeah. Every year we try to bring in at least one or two artists from Germany or Austria. The German version of the Backstreet Boys. Yeah, exactly. Explained earlier on today as well. When it comes to the sausages, who is supplying the sausages? These are from Usingers. OK. Yeah, can't go wrong with Usingers. Right. Keeping it local there as well. Exactly. What makes this fun for you? For me, well, I actually started here when I was a teenager on a stage performing and have been volunteering the whole time. And it's great to meet all the people and just experience the culture. The food, obviously, a big part of it, without a doubt. The first drink you're having today is probably going to be water because you're here early. You got to stay hydrated. Got to stay hydrated. Yeah. You know, it was actually a little bit chilly off the lake this morning, which was awesome. You know, it's warm now because we're in front of the grill. But other than that, which beverage are you going for? Probably our festival beer from Lakefront. OK, there you go, Eric. Well, great seeing you. Thanks for joining us a couple of times this morning. We appreciate that. German Fest, guys, is back. As you hear, heard him say you're 44 down here on Milwaukee's lakefront. The authentic German traditions have been here in Milwaukee for much longer that my family, many people's families have been here. And we're so grateful for you guys to celebrate the traditions. Thanks so much. Yeah. Thank you, Brian. Smells like summer down.