‘Go to Tappan on October 6’

    

Make sure you are free on Sunday, October 6 for two fun, family-friendly events in Tappan. Yes, once again both Grand Master’s Day and Traubenfest have been scheduled for the same day.

The former will be different from the customary tree dedication ceremony, and will be a relaxed picnic. The latter remains an Oktoberfest-style party with German food, beer, and music hosted by the Ninth Manhattan District. In my experience, the weather somehow always is perfect on these days.

And, later that month, look for Grand Master’s Family Day at West Point to see the Black Knights play the Pirates of East Carolina University. (I didn’t even know East Carolina was a state!) Outstanding autumn activities.

     

‘Traubenfest is near’

    

It is time for Traubenfest again! The Ninth Manhattan District’s autumnal celebration of German culture, with food, beer, music, and vendors, returns to the district’s own park on October 1–always the first Sunday of “Oktober.”

It’s a great time, and Tappan is a short, easy commute north of Manhattan.

     

‘Traubenfest: Sunday, October 6’

     
The official announcement is posted: Traubenfest is scheduled for Sunday, October 6!

Traubenfest, meaning “Strawberry Grape Festival,” is the annual all-day Oktoberfest bash hosted by the lodges of the Ninth Manhattan District at German Masonic Park in Tappan, New York.

Gates will open at 11 a.m., and the festivities—plenty of German food, beer, and music—will continue to sundown. It is a rain-or-shine event. Plenty of free parking. Admission: $5 for adults; free for children under 14.

German Masonic Park is located at 89 Western Highway South, very close to DeWint House, if you want to make more of a day of it.

Always a good time, and we never seem to suffer bad weather. (Watch, I probably just jinxed it.)
     

‘Traubenfest in six weeks!’

     
It’s hard to think of October right now, but October 1 is only six weeks away, and that’s the date of Traubenfest 2017.

Traubenfest is the annual German culture outdoor party hosted by the Freemasons of the Ninth Manhattan District, the organization under the Grand Lodge of New York that unites historically German lodges. It takes place at German Masonic Park (89 Western Highway) in Tappan. German food, German beer, German music, and a host of attractions await us. It’s a rain or shine event.

Traubenfest has a new website here. Admission is just five bucks, but kids under 14 get in free.

Traditionally, Traubenfest and Grand Master’s Day coincide on the same day in Tappan, but this year Grand Master’s Day will be hosted on October 15.
     

‘Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival next month’

     

The lodges of the Ninth Manhattan District will be back at German Masonic Park to host its Sixth Annual Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival, with five new acts to perform all afternoon on Sunday, June 11. The park is located at 89 Western Highway in Tappan, New York, and is owned and operated by the Ninth Manhattan, which is home to New York City’s historic German heritage lodges.

This year, the brethren are promising additional attractions, like a classic car show, vendors, Shriner clowns, and that child ID thing.

Admission: $15 at the gate, or $10 in advance here. Children 12 and under admitted free. Gates open at 11 a.m., and the music starts at 1 p.m. (Music Workshop at noon.) Lots of free parking. Food and drink, including beer and wine, for sale in the park.

The bands slated to perform are:

RJ Storm and the Old School




Blue Plate Special




Feinberg Brothers




Jim Gaudet & Railroad Boys




Pork Chop Willie




It’s always a fun time. If you don’t know bluegrass music, or think you won’t enjoy it, you’re probably wrong. Bluegrass is heard best when heard live, so check it out. Proceeds go to several charities.
     

‘Traubenfest 2015’

     
I haven’t actually seen an official announcement for Traubenfest yet, but I have seen other sources discuss it, so I’ll go ahead and state here that Traubenfest 2015 is scheduled for Sunday, October 4—just three weeks away—at German Masonic Park in Tappan, New York.

Magpie file photo

The celebration of German culture—the 125th annual, if I’m not mistaken—will be hosted by the Ninth Manhattan District, home to New York Freemasonry’s German heritage lodges, and it is a great day of German food, German beer, and German music. It usually does take place on the same date as Grand Master’s Day in Tappan, and that is another reason I’m willing to say October 4 is right—but hopefully the organizers will offer news for dissemination soon.

German Masonic Park is located at 89 Western Highway, only about a mile from DeWint House, where Grand Master’s Day will be hosted that afternoon, but that event will end early enough to allow for ample enjoyment of the rest of the day at Traubenfest, which runs from noon to six o’clock.

It’s a great time—family friendly and all that—and every chance I have attended these past five or six years the weather has been perfect. See you there.
     

‘Bluegrass photos’

     
Amid several long days of rain, we got very lucky Sunday with a beautiful, sunny respite that made the 2015 Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival a perfect afternoon. The event supports the German Masonic Charitable Foundation. The foundation comprises the Masonic lodges of the Ninth Manhattan District in New York, many of which have their roots in German immigration to the United States in the last century and earlier. The charities funded by this music festival include the Shriner transportation unit—the group of volunteers who ferry needy kids to and from the Shriner hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia—and several other children’s causes.

An enthusiast of mountain music myself for many years, I was very pleased with the talent that performed all day at German Masonic Park in Tappan. Well, one band had a drum kit and electric bass, and played rock songs—I don’t know what the hell that was all about—but they were okay too. The other acts, hailing from distant rural locales like Philadelphia, Long Island, and Brooklyn, were excellent. In addition, there was plenty of beer (it is German Masonic Park, after all) and food. I can’t wait for the fifth annual festival next year.

Some photos:

Jersey Corn Pickers

Dubl Handi

Dubl Handi chose its name for the famous washboard brand. Click here.

Buddy Merriam and Back Roads

Buddy Merriam launched his bluegrass career 35 years ago. Actually, Saturday was the anniversary. He knew and performed with Bill Monroe, and he hosts the program Blue Grass Time on WUSB Wednesdays.

A brilliant mando picker as well.

McMule

McMule is the band with the drums and bass guitar. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn't what one expects in bluegrass bands. I had a mental block about it, so I shot only the dobro and mandolin players.

Cricket Tell the Weather

I suppose if I had to pick a favorite from among the line-up Sunday,
it would be Cricket Tell the Weather.

     

‘Bluegrass festival Sunday at Tappan’

     

The fourth annual Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival will be hosted by the Freemasons of the Ninth Manhattan District on Sunday. I can’t believe it’s been a year already.

That’s at the district’s German Masonic Park, located at 120 Western Highway South in Tappan, New York. Tickets in advance cost $10 per person, and $15 at the gate. Children under 12 admitted free. Food, soft drinks, beer, and wine will be available for purchase inside the park. (No BYO.) Plenty of free parking.

Gates will open at 11 a.m. A music workshop (open mike) at the main pavilion will begin at noon, and the music will start at one o’clock.

Proceeds to benefit a variety of children’s charities.

The line-up this year: McMule  • Dubl Handi • Jersey Corn Pickers • Cricket Tell the Weather • Buddy Merriam and Back Roads.

McMule

Dubl Handi

Jersey Corn Pickers

Cricket Tell the Weather

Buddy Merriam and Back Roads

I definitely will post photos. Maybe I’ll be able to get one into The Empire State Mason. EDIT: Click here for a batch of photos.
     

‘That High and Lonesome Sound’

     










Posting this unexpected interesting announcement makes the sad news about the death of Doc Watson yesterday a little easier to take. The Ninth Manhattan District’s German Masonic Charitable Foundation will host its first Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival next month at its German Masonic Park in Tappan.



Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival

Saturday, June 16, from noon to nine

German Masonic Park

120 Western Highway

Tappan, New York




Tickets are $25 each, and a portion of each sale will be donated to the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome research and other efforts into SIDS research.




Tickets are available here.







     

‘On tap in Tappan, Part II’

    

This second “On Tap” post concerns the Ninth Manhattan District’s 120th annual Traubenfest held at the German Masonic Park, an autumn wonderland of beer, blondes, and sausages. I had no idea this place existed until I happened to be cc’d on an e-mail advertising this event some weeks previously. Too good to be true, I figured, must be a prank. But it is for real.

As far as I can tell, the lodges in the Ninth Manhattan District own the park, and each lodge owns and operates a building where food and beverages are sold. Some of the buildings are simple structures with a kitchen and some storage space, but others somewhat resemble taverns, or German beer halls. I don’t know what events take place here, or when, but Traubenfest (Grape Festival) is a very well attended and likely highly anticipated event. I know I’m going back.

I can’t name all the lodges of the District, but it includes Allemania 740, Lessing 608, Schiller Lodge, Trinity 12, Von Mensch 765, and I’m sure others. Plus there is the German Masonic Charitable Foundation.

The photos:



An instant after this photo was shot, a huge ball of flame erupted from the grill.





Spaten appears to be the official beer of Traubenfest 2010. And it is good.


Okay, okay, the photos stink this time. Listen, I had the camera in one hand, a pint in the other, and half a pound of bratwurst in another. And it’s not like you’re paying for the content here!

On a closing note, I attended both Grand Master’s Day and Traubenfest with my next door neighbor. After bending his elbow with a few pints at the festival, he let me twist his arm and bring him to Old ’76 House, yet another historic site in Tappan. It has been a tavern in continuous service since the 17th century; was used to jail Benedict Arnold’s accomplice, Major John Andre; and was frequented by George Washington and other Founders. We left there after a few more drinks with the inspired idea to have yet another drink at yet another historic site where Washington had “refreshed” himself, so we headed home resolved to have a nightcap along the way at Bloomfield Steak and Seafood House, about 30 miles away from Tappan. It is a restaurant now, but it had been a private residence for centuries. Built in 1670, it is the location where Bro. Joseph Bloomfield signed the charter of the Township of Bloomfield (wherever did they get that name?), and where Washington and Bro. Henry Knox once dined during the Revolution. A historical pub crawl. (I wanted to stop at Fraunces en route to Bloomfield, but I had to get him home to his wife.)