Lustige Leute Newsletter October 2020

Happy Oktoberfest!   How are you doing, now we're 3/4 of the way through this year?  Autumn has arrived, and things continue to, well, be interesting to say the least.  We hope you are healthy and happy.  We're thankful we're all still here and able to talk about it! 

There has been a flurry of activity around the Lustig Haus.  We are blessed to perform about 3 public / private shows a week right now.  If you had told us just 6 weeks ago that we'd be this busy in October, we never would have believed you.  It's been wonderful to get out and see people!  We just returned from a 10 day road trip with private parties and a couple of public performances in northern Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.  Rehearsal time has decreased a bit, but performance and travel time has greatly increased.  Ross is continuing to devote 6 hours a day (only about once a week right now) to accordion and alphorn rehearsal and vocal exercises.  I've stayed busy with promotions, last minute bookings, and until a few days ago, was still coordinating the now cancelled Tomball German Christmas Market.  Our latest batch of Sauerkraut is ready, is amazing with all of the delicious sausages Siegi's in Tulsa sent us home with!  Not to mention, the delicious Bier we were sent home with from the KC Bier Company!  If you're ever in Tulsa, drop in on Siegi's!  They have an import store / grocery, heck they even have an online store!  ...and the restaurant is great.  If you're ever in Kansas City, make sure to stock up on some really good American made Reinheitsgebot brewed Bier! 

We know there are many of you who still can not get out to do things in public, so we are continuing our online shows for the time being.  We'll be online on Wednesday Oct 14, and plan to do an online show on Wednesday Oct 28 as well.   We're always happy to play requests.  We're also eager to share footage we took while road tripping in September.  All of the live online shows are broadcast from my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/valinapolka There are also a few things on the http://www.youtube.com/valinapolka  page.  And more to come!  I just need time to compile and upload.  Make sure to subscribe to the channel, so you'll know when those videos are posted. I think I've posted another original song on there since last we talked... About a Beer Drinkin' Chicken from Bremond. 

Oktoberfest season: 

Thursdays Oct 1, 8, 22, 29 at The Sauer Kraut Grill at 734 Crabb River Rd, in Richmond, Texas from 6 - 8pm.  They have excellent food, and a great Bier (lots of Paulaner, and local craft brews!) and Wein selection!  Picnic tables outside if you feel safer dining in the fresh air.  We'll come out and play for you if you like! 

Saturday Oct 3; private party in Houston, TX 

Wednesday Oct 7; Polka Wednesdays at Krause's Cafe in New Braunfels, Texas; Free admission; The Duo 6 - 9pm 

Saturday Oct 10; private party in Houston, TX 

Wednesday Oct 14; private lunch party in Houston, TX 

Wednesday Oct 14; Online Show starting at 7pm on the valinapolka facebook page. 

Thursday Oct 15; Sunset Music Series on the Front Porch of the Moore Home, 406 S. 5th street, Richmond, Texas;  $20 admission; Tickets Required, lawn seating - bring a chair or blanket, and BYOpicnic - alcohol allowed!  Order a delicious to go meal from The Sauer Kraut Grill! 

Saturday Oct 17; Oktoberfest at the Pecan Grove Store; 5244 N Hwy 16, Fredericksburg, TX; Free admission; The Duo 1 - 3:30pm and 6 - 8:30pm 

Tuesday Oct 20; Private lunch party in Houston, TX 

Wednesday Oct 21; Private Zoom (online) party in Houston, TX 

Saturday and Sunday Oct 24 & 25; Oktoberfest at Bend General Store in Bend, Texas, 3 - 6pm; The 4 pc party band!  $5 cover 

Wednesday Oct 28; Online Show starting at 7pm on the valinapolka facebook page. 

Friday and Saturday Nov 6 &7; Live music in the Biergarten tent at Walburg German Restaurant, Walburg, TX; 6pm both days; The 4 pc party band! 

Wednesday Nov 11; Polka Wednesdays at Krause's Cafe in New Braunfels, Texas; 6 - 9pm 

There are still a few dates here and there available if you're interested in a private party.  There are still some goodies from Paulaner too!  We'd love to bring the Biergarten to you!  Of course, with the current circumstances, things can change rapidly, so always check our website, facebook, or the website of the public event to make sure it's going as planned or if it requires reservations before you leave your home.  This year, new bookings are coming in fast and with short notice.  Updates will always be on our website front page, and our social media. 

Hosting our trips to Europe will resume as soon as international travel is wide open again.  The trip we were going to host this year going to Germany and the Czech Republic has been postponed and reserved for next June, 2021.  Travel dates are Tuesday June 8 - Tuesday June 22.   The itinerary will follow the same plan (as much as possible) we had in place for this year's trip.  We have not yet confirmed this, but we are most likely going to fly in to Frankfurt Airport with a scheduled arrival of 11:15am.  We still plan to depart from the Munich airport, which currently will require a change of aircraft between Munich and Houston.  We're hoping that changes when borders open, and people resume traveling.  We are bound by the current airline schedules and other factors beyond our control, but will do our best to provide you the best experience we can.  If you'd like to join us for travel to Europe in the future, let us know!  Our small groups have a ton of fun together! 

Website:  You can always find out what's happening with us at http://www.prostyall.com.  We update our calendar as information becomes available.  The store page has shirts and hat pins to get you ready for the Oktoberfest season.  Also, make sure to subscribe to our youtube channel, as we are loading the live shows from facebook up to youtube each week for those who prefer to stay away from facebook.  And you never know in this crazy world, there may come a time when we are broadcasting live on youtube. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/valinapolka 

Behind the scenes: Ross just celebrated his 50th birthday, and it was epic!  We had set a little aside for this milestone birthday, and we took a short vacation between Oklahoma and Missouri gigs to go to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse.  We'll be sharing the short videos of our drive, and some of the stops with you on our social media very soon!  One video is linked below; taken at Mt Rushmore itself!  It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a blast.  The grand finale was Sunday and Monday Sept 27 and 28; Ross enjoyed breakfast at his favorite Ole South Pancake House in Ft Worth with friends, then dinner and cake with his family near Sealy, followed by being told he had to be at the Sauer Kraut Grill to play a private party on Monday...but when he arrived for "work" our friends Alex Meixner, Tommy Haller, Paddy King, Eric and Lisa Morse were already there.  Alex and the guys were on their way out of town after a 4 day run in Texas, but they delayed their departure just for Ross.  The Sauer Kraut Grill is usually closed on Mondays, but Eric and Lisa opened it for Ross' surprise party. 

Stars and Stripes at Mount Rushmore

 

Keep your hands together that the world will continue to heal enough that we can get back to celebrating together again in person at these fun events!  We look forward to seeing you sometime soon!  Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay cool!  Prost Y'all!

Leave a comment