Lustige Leute Newsletter October 2022 Oktoberfest edition continued

TIME IS FLYING!!!  I guess it does when you have fun.  It's great to see and meet so many of you at Oktoberfest!  The world around us is wacky and unpredictable, but Oktoberfest seems to be a nice place to escape to, and that escape has been wunderbar with you!  The weather is getting nicer, the Biers a little darker and the food!  Ahhhhhhh. 

October / Oktoberfest performances: 

-- KC Oktoberfest, by KC Bier Co, Kansas City, MO 
Friday and Saturday Oct 7 & 8; The 4 piece band; Das ist Ross, Robert Herridge, Rick Weiss, and Valina Polka. 
Friday; 5p - 7:30 at the Main Stage; Opening ceremonies during our break 
Saturday; 2p - 6:30 at the Polka Stage; Folk dancers during our break 

-- Clyde Oktoberfest, Clyde (near Abilene), TX 
Saturday and Sunday Oct 15 & 16; The 4 piece band; Das ist Ross, Robert Herridge, Rick Weiss, and Valina Polka. 
Saturday festival open 10am - 8pm  Performance times TBD 
Sunday festival open 12pm - 6pm  Performance times TBD 

-- Tulsa Oktoberfest, Tulsa, OK 
Tuesday - Sunday Oct 18 - 23; The 4 piece band and dancers; Das ist Ross, Robert Herridge, Rick Weiss, Valina Polka and dancers from Tanzenfest 
Tuesday is an Oktoberfest dinner in the Lufthansa Biergarten  See website for details 
Wednesday is Corporate night  See website for details 

Thursday 5p - 7p at the Warsteiner EssZelt 
Friday 11:30a - 2:45 at the Warsteiner EssZelt 
Saturday 3p - 7p at the Warsteiner EssZelt 
Sunday 11a - 2p at the Bierstube by Paulaner 

The homepage of our website reflects every performance that is open to the public.  Often when we're on the road, we don't have access to update our facebook pages, but will always (as long as my cell phone works) update the home page on our website if there is a last minute change.  You're always welcome to give us a call or send a text if you want to make sure we're going to be where our calendar shows we're going to be. 

Pumpkin Spice in the air means Christmas is coming.  Need some live music for your Christmas party?  Call us for pricing and availability if you have something to celebrate this winter!  We can play for you as a duo unplugged, or we can bring the sound equipment and specialty folk instruments.  We have a repertoire of about 30 Austrian, German and American Christmas favorites, even a couple of Christmas songs on the Alphorn and cowbells! 

Looking ahead: 

-- Wurstfest, New Braunfels, TX 

Friday - Sunday Nov 4 - 13; 
Saturday Nov 5, The Little Tent, The 4 piece band and dancers; 4p - 5p, 7p - 8:10, 9:50 -10:50 
Sunday Nov 6, The Little Tent, The 4 piece band and dancers; 2:40 - 3:40, 5:30 - 6:30, 8:10 - 9p 
Tuesday Nov 8, Stelzenplatz, The 4 piece band and dancers; 6:40 - 7:30, 9p - 9:45 
Wednesday Nov 9, Stelzenplatz, The 4 piece band and dancers; 6:40 - 7:30, 9p - 9:45 
Friday Nov 11, Stelzenplatz, The 4 piece band and dancers; 5:30 - 6:35, 8:15 - 9:15 
Saturday Nov 12, Stelzenplatz, The 4 piece band and dancers; 2:10 - 3:10, 4:50 - 5:45, 7:15 - 8:15, 9:40 - 10:35 
Sunday Nov 13, Stelzenplatz, The 4 piece band and dancers; 6:10 - 7:10, 8:50 - 9:45 

We like to gather together for breakfast with friends who come in town for Wurstfest.  We're returning to the Golden Corral this year because unlike most of the breakfast places in New Braunfels, they allow reservations, and I've made one for our group.  A friendly buffet is truly the best way to relax together for a leisurely meal together - we can schnibble to our heart's content and go to the festival with a good foundation on which to drink a few Biers!  Would you like to meet us there at 9am on Saturday Nov 5?  Please Let me know by October 27 so I can give them a firm number for our group. 

Hosting our trips:  We are planning to go to Germany, The Czech Republic and Switzerland in June of 2024.  Availability for the services we need to travel in 2023 were already booked up, so we're making a big 3 week extravaganza for you in 2024!   I will begin building the new itinerary in January.  Stay tuned! 
If you'd like to join us for travel in the future, we'd love to hear from you!  There have been requests to return to Austria, The Netherlands, requests to do a Christmas Market tour, and interest in expanding our travel to more places around the US.  We tailor these trips to your wishes!  You can even ask us to organize and host a private trip for you and your guests! 

Website:  You can always find out what's happening with us at http://www.prostyall.com.  We update our calendar as information becomes available, and always keep the upcoming gigs and last minute changes on the home page.  The shop page https://www.prostyall.com/shop has koozies! (they fit party cups, pint glasses and Wurstfest cups!)  The famous "Prost Y'all" sign is in stock and available for sale too!  Won't that look awesome on the wall of your favorite relaxation spot!  We also have shirts; including the brand new "Das ist Ross" shirts!  Hat pins, and CD's that can make lunch at the office a little more like a Biergarten! Who doesn't love a 45 minute escape mid-day? 

Social Media:  You can find us on Facebook, and Youtube.  You can subscribe to our Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/valinapolka , friend us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/valinapolka  "like" us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prostyall/  We have an instagram, but don't know how to use it. 

Behind the scenes:  It's been gloriously busy!  But among the glory, there is also heart break.  We now know why our drummer Jeff retired from playing last year after Wurstfest.  He was diagnosed with cancer already well into stage 4.  It has taken over in glands and bones.  He told us he was going to be doing a lot of traveling and camping with his wife Kat, as she was about to retire.  Jeff loves travel, so it was an easy cover to believe.   He did spend a lot of time in other countries and camping around the US up until about the end of August this year.  He is resting, being kept comfortable with hospice care, and in the arms of his wife Kat.  Jeff is way more than just our drummer.  He's become family over the years.  As we hung out with him and Kat on a few days off this year, we had no idea anything was wrong.  He never indicated.  He and Ross went bike riding while I worked on Tomball paperwork, we all cooked and ate together, and he gave me run of the shop's Cajon selection so I could pick the right one for our band.  It's so hard knowing that he's not going to be here much longer.  I can only pray that some of his kindness, humor, knowledge, and experience has rubbed off on the thousands of people who call him friend and fellow musician.  He taught me a lot about performance and stage presence, and encouraged all of my percussion forays.   We miss him terribly, and even more now that we know why he left.  Our band will never be the same, but hopefully we are all better for having Jeff Ryder in our lives. 

We've had 3 days not on stage or the road since September 12.  Today is one of those 3 days.  We just got a last minute booking for tomorrow, so we'll be on stage or driving for work for the next 6 days.  Back On Sunday Sept 25, Ross' favorite workhorse, the Beltuna, (with the awesome Alpine tuning and the rumbly tuba sounds in the left hand) threw a key rod (at least I think that's what it's called).  Normal wear and tear coupled with the extreme heat situations in Texas' summers (temperatures above 90 and direct sun is never good for an accordion) are to blame.  Ross has it taken apart in the dining room as I'm writing this.  He only has a few more hours today that he can spend working on it to assess the repair situation.  Then he'll check the tire pressure on the work van, and water the parched plants.  When I finish writing to you, I will be heading out to run some errands, then do a few loads of Tracht to be washed, ironed and re-packed, gather cold weather gear for the Kansas City run, inventory and re-pack merch, fix dinner, and spend a little time playing with my little pet bird.  We're back on stage already again tomorrow. 

That's all for this newsletter.  Your support and friendship means a lot to us, and it is wonderful to get to see so many of you at the Oktoberfests!  We hope your Autumn season is going well.  Stay healthy, stay safe, share a smile with a stranger, and love those around you.  You never know when they won't be there any more.  We hope we get to "prost y'all" sometime soon!

Leave a comment