The German Club teamed up with the World Connections Club and hosted an Oktoberfest celebration at the school on Oct. 7. Students gathered in the CCA to play trivia, learn dances and try German foods.

Oktoberfest is a yearly German celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria from the end of September through the beginning of October. HSE’s German Club hosts a celebration for the school every year. In the last few years, the World Connections Club has joined them.

“Celebrating Oktoberfest was a stressful event from a planning standpoint but proved to be more successful than we ever anticipated, with a roughly 200-person crowd,” German Club president Lydia Powers said. “It was enjoyable, as it was accompanied by trivia, prizes, dancing and free food!”

Students were also able to learn some new German words. Frau Matthews, the sponsor of German Club, took the lead in teaching words and dances to attendees.

“I love all the patterns in the language,” Matthews said. “It’s a very mathematical language but also really easy to use to talk philosophy and deep topics.”

German club focuses on keeping German culture active at HSE. This event is a huge part of sharing that culture with students who would not otherwise have knowledge about German Americans and the reason behind Oktoberfest.

“German club required a little bit of help in terms of gaining popularity among students,” Powers said. “As a student of German American Heritage, I partly felt that it was my duty to keep the German American culture alive.”

Matthews has held Oktoberfest almost every year since she’s been at HSE, and teachers before her have celebrated it is well. They estimate that HSE has had an Oktoberfest celebration for about 30 years. The celebration is very popular with students and German Club is hopeful for its growth.

“It will be back next year,” Matthews said. “It was an amazing time this year and I know Oktoberfest 2023 will be even better!”