Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. More Headlines
To mark the arrival of Swiss settlers in New Glarus in 1845, the people of New Glarus celebrate Swiss Independence Day through an annual festival.
That festival is called Volksfest and took place Sunday at Tell Shooting Park with music and food.
Yodelers, flag wavers and singers took the stage throughout the 14 performances at the festival.
“Today, everybody is Swiss,” said Kaye Gmur, a singer at Volksfest with Swiss heritage.
People dressed in traditional Swiss outfits, sang traditional Swiss songs and recited Swiss folklore.
Instruments like the accordion, alphorn and talerschwingen, which is Swiss coin rolling, accompanied the singers.
“It’s one of my favorite festivals in New Glarus,” Gmur said. “It’s short, sweet, everybody comes out. You see people that you haven’t seen for a long time.”
While people listened to the music, they were able to enjoy food, such as brats, beer and Landjäger, which is like a dried sausage.
“If I can’t be in Switzerland, this is the next best place to be,” Gmur said.
The festival has happened for decades, and festival officials said the annual fest doesn’t have an end date in sight.
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