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East Toledo and Oregon are the places to be in August as tens of thousands of people converge on the area to celebrate Hungarian, German and Swiss cultures.
The 37th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival has been expanded this year. The popular festival, held on Consaul St., will take place on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 2-10 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 21, from 12-9 p.m.
Of course, those in the know understand the “Fest” really begins with the VFW Post 4906 Fish Fry on Friday, Aug. 19. The post, located at Consaul and Caledonia Streets, will serve Lake Erie Perch, frog legs and shrimp.
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Spend a weekend in the Old Country at the 37th Annual Birmingham Ethnic
Festival, which promises to be a "great time with family, friends & food",
according to Tim Andrassy, festival book committee chair. (Press phot by
Ken Grosjean) |
On Saturday, Calvin United Church of Christ, located at the corner of Consaul and Bakewell Streets, will hold a celebration of Hungarian Folk Dance from 5-10 p.m. Admission is free and food, live music and a cash bar will all be available.
At the St. Stephen’s lot, there will be beer, food and music by Tru Brew from 5:30-10p.m.
Don’t forget to cheer for your favorite team during the 15th Annual Waiter’s Race which will begin at 7p.m. on Consaul St. Spectators can watch as teams from several neighborhood organizations compete in a relay race up and down Consaul Street carrying trays of four glasses of beer.
Last year, the team from the Hungarian Club won the race while spilling the least amount of beer. Other teams scheduled to compete are Tony Packo’s, VFW Post 4906, Ironworkers Local 55, and the Rumpus Room.
The festival will also feature a special children’s craft area on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. in the Calvin United Church lot at Consaul and Bakewell.
In keeping with tradition, Opening Ceremonies will be held Sunday at 12 p.m. at St. Stephen’s. “Shout,” a Beatles Tribute Band, will be playing from 5-9 p.m.
Of course, it would not be the Birmingham Fest without Hungarian food being served. St. Stephen's Catholic Church, the Hungarian Club of Toledo, and Calvin United Church of Christ will feature their famous chicken paprikas and kolbasz dinners. Hungarian pastries, paprikas noodles and gravy, kolbasz sandwiches, stuffed cabbages, and szallona sutes, otherwise known as Hunky Turkey, will also be available.
This year, The Marine Corps League will feature Mexican foods, along with hot dogs, sausage sandwiches and corn-on-the-cob. VFW Post 4906 will be serving Shishkabob, pigs-in-the-blankets, sausage dogs, and szallona sutes.
Michael Csizek, Birmingham Festival co-chairman and president of the Hungarian Club of Toledo, said the festival was expanded because of popular demand.
“The Waiter’s Race keeps getting bigger and bigger each year,” Csizek said. “We had so many people watching the race and they were hungry and thirsty so we decided to begin on Saturday.”
The festival has also become more family friendly with the addition of the children’s craft area on Saturday, Csizek said adding festival goers do not need to be Hungarian to enjoy the event.
“The real reason to come to the festival is the food,” he said. “Nobody else in Toledo has Hunky Turkey. It is hard to describe but once you taste it you will want more.”
For those who have never had Hunky Turkey, it is bacon grease dripped onto bread and topped with vegetables. Worried? Take an aspirin and just enjoy the experience.
Tim Andrassy, book committee chair, said the festival highlights several cultures, not just the Hungarian culture.
“There are numerous cultures in Toledo so we highlight that,” Andrassy said. “The Birmingham neighborhood is turning 120 years old so we are dedicating the guide to that. It really is just a great time with family, friends and food.”
The following weekend, you can fill up on German and Swiss culture during the 46th Annual German American Festival, at Oak Shade Grove, in Oregon. The festival will be held Friday, Aug. 26, from 6 p.m.-1 a.m., Sat., Aug. 27, from 2 p.m.-1 a.m., and Sun., Aug. 28, from 12-11 p.m.
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German American Festival offers a food, music, fun festival for
everyone, young and old alike. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean) |
According to Tim Pecsenye, festival chairman, the festival is the greatest, oldest and largest ethnic festival in the Toledo area. The GAF is hoping to see 32,000-35,000 people attend this year.
“The festival offers people a great value for their entertainment dollar,” Pecsenye said. “We have authentic, made by volunteers, German food and drink and continuous entertainment. It is a safe place to bring the children. The festival is very family friendly.”
The parade and opening ceremonies will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday. The fest will feature a new pretzel eating contest, baking contests, a Hummel look a like contest, a Swiss stone throwing contest, as well as amusement rides, live entertainment, the Import Haus, and the Old World Bier and Wein Garten.
A countless list of German, imported and domestic beers and wines will be available as well as the festival’s signature cocktail, the German chocolate cupcake.
According to Pecsenye, wine aficionados may partake in a German wine tasting flight- a wine sampling board with six samples of different German wines.
If it is food you are seeking, the festival has plenty of that as well. The Sidewalk Café will offer kuchen, strudels, cookies, and a variety of other homemade pastries.
The Swiss Essen Haus will feature many types of European-style and imported cheeses, breads, and meats. Sausages, sandwiches and roast pork dinners, all made to order, will also be available.
Still hungry? Don‘t forget the potato pancakes, schnitzel sandwiches and the
lebkuchenherz, homemade, hand decorated gingerbread hearts.
Other eats include ham shanks, Bratwurst, jalapeño Wurst, smoked Wurst, Brat patty sandwiches, pretzels, funnel cakes, Leberkäs platters, sauerkraut, cheddar Wurst, potato salad, and sauerkraut balls will all be available. New this year is Leberkässemmel, a quarter pound of veal loaf served on a Kaiser roll.
“This really is Toledo’s number one party,” Pecsenye said. “We offer a fun festival for everyone, young and old alike.”
Funds raised during the festival go to help support the German and Swiss Cultural Center at Oak Shade, he said.
“We are the largest supporter of high school German language programs in Toledo,” Pecsenye said. “We also give to several charities and food pantries.”
General admission is $7 per person. Children 12 years of age and under will be admitted at no charge all weekend when accompanied by a parent or guardian.
$6 Discount Advance Purchase Admission Tickets and GAF Shuttle Tickets are available for online purchase at www.germanamericanfestival.net or www.gafsociety.org/fest.htm. Two day ($10) and three day ($15) admission passes are available only online.
Discount Advance Purchase Admission Tickets and GAF Shuttle Tickets are also available at Arnie’s Westgate; Berger’s Olde Tyme on Laskey; Shawn’s Irish Tavern on Heatherdowns and on Third St. in Waterville; Manhattan’s Restaurant, Bretz Bar, The Attic on Adams, Wesley’s Bar & Grill and the Ottawa Tavern in the Toledo Uptown area; Ventura’s Original Mexican Cantina on Bancroft, Mayfly Tavern in Point Place and Yeeha’s Buckin’ Bar & Grill on Navarre in Oregon.
Special Sunday Discounts include Active military, police, fire, or EMS personnel will be admitted at no charge (with proof of employment) on Sunday. Senior citizens’ with Golden Buckeye card or equivalent will be admitted for $1 discount from general admission on Sunday at the gate.
For the fifth year, the GAF is also offering a shuttle service from several area locations.
“The shuttle has really worked for us,” Pecsenye said. “People don’t have to worry about driving from different parts of town. We deliver them safely to the front door of the festival and back to their cars.”
The GAF Shuttle is $6. Tickets are available at Shawn’s Irish Tavern on Heatherdowns and on Third St. in Waterville; Manhattan’s Restaurant, Bretz Bar, Wesley’s Bar & Grill and the Ottawa Tavern in the Toledo Uptown area; Ventura’s Mexican Cantina on Bancroft, and Yeeha’s Buckin’ Bar & Grill on Navarre in Oregon. Yeeha’s will also provide a complimentary shuttle service.
Shuttle ticket locations and departure locations will be at Arnie’s Westgate, Berger’s Olde Tyme on Laskey Rd., the Lucas County Recreation Center, the Mayfly Tavern on Summit St. and The Attic on Adams in Toledo.
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