Growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and being from two predominantly German families, Oktoberfest was always a huge part of my life. At my school, we learned songs in German and had our own Maple Leaf parade.
The artist as young German girl
My friend Brian Kelly must have intuited this Teutonic nature of mine when he asked me to be a roaming performer at the Saint Paul Saints German Night a few years ago.
The original Ricola family: Andy Kraft, Carin Bratlie-Wethern, Ryan Robert Nelson, Billie Jo Konze and Clarence Bratlie-Wethern
The second year, while thrift shopping, I found my own dirndl (something I was obviously sorely missing in my life).
The Ricola cousins: Jane Caplow, Kevin McLaughlin, Paul Sommers and myself
I wasn't able to do German night last year, so I am happy to be rejoining the Ricola family this year to cause havoc at the game tonight. More pictures to follow, I'm sure.
Can't join us? Okay, I leave you with a joke: How many players on a baseball team?
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NEIN!