The sounds of German music and clinking glasses rang out during an extraordinarily long weekend as the start of fall embraced Redwood City’s Courthouse Square. From September 22 through 25 (Thursday through Sunday, if anyone’s post-celebration memory recalls), the popular plaza was converted into a huge beer garden where merriment chased away any notions of future hangovers.
After receiving glass beer steins the size of small fire hydrants, patrons used the cold contents to wash down bratwurst and other sausages, as well as sauerkraut and giant pretzels. Performances featured the Germanic dance troupe Nature Friends Schuhplattler and songs from the instrumental ensemble Deutscher Musikverein of San Francisco and the group Alpine Sound, which bills itself “Silicon Valley’s German music band.” Competitions in singing, dancing and yodeling culminated with the international favorite, “The Chicken Dance.” Another tune, Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” comes to mind.
