MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2023

 MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2023 - Oktoberfest, Halloween, Entertainment

IT’S OCTOBER!!!

Ah, yes, October.  (I’ve been waiting for October for eleven months!! <grin>).

October is the tenth month of the year.  I used to worry (probably not the proper term) - knowing that OCT is the prefix for eight.  (or December has the prefix DEC for ten).  But I learned that the Romans started their year in March - so the eighth month with the prefix OCT is October.  

October is Oktoberfest!! (Yeehaw) and Halloween (double Yeehaw).  It is (or should be) the end of the record heat days of summer.  Some places (not necessarily Texas) have “Indian Summer.” An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It's usually after a period of colder weather or frost.”  

“The average first frost date in Austin, Texas, is November 5. The risk of frost is from December 6 through February 17. However, there is almost certainly frost from December 28 through January 23. The frost-free growing season is around 292 days. 

“The average first freeze date at Austin's Camp Mabry is December 2. The average last freeze date is February 23. However, freezes have been as early as October 26 and as late as April 9. 

I have kept my patio garden growing for a few years - bring plants in when the forecast is for frost or freezing.  Today, my patio garden has excellent Swiss Chard and some late-started green beans.

I will play at the Walburg German restaurant for Oktoberfest on three Saturday evenings in October.  We have two sets - a mostly German set and then a big band set.  (Our repertoire hasn’t changed in years - but maybe there is a chance of change this year).  

I have two biases for performing in a beer tent:

1. The audience isn’t there for a concert.  They like the music, but that isn’t why they are there.  They are with friends having a night out.  They will drink beer, talk with their friends, laugh, eat a bratwurst, and maybe dance once or twice.  They want a good time.

2. We are “entertainers”.  There are many choices for entertainment.  A person can go to a movie, a ball game (this time of year, a football game), the theater, a restaurant, or even just stay home and watch television or see a movie. 
   
   
   

WE NEED TO ENTERTAIN.  That can be a tricky thing to do as people are laughing and having a good time.  We can’t intrude on their evening.  We can’t demand they listen to us.  They probably wouldn’t come out without having some music and entertainment - but we can’t intrude on their evening.

There is another band at our location (Walburg Restaurant) - the Walburg Boys.  They are funny. There is a violin (“fiddle”) player, an accordion player (who also yodels), a bass guitar, a keyboard/guitar/other instrument player, and drums.  And they have humor in addition to their songs.  They introduce the band members. The violin (fiddle) player is a Native American, and the bass player is from Finland and doesn’t speak English. The accordion player is from Bavaria (for real).  It is humor - poking fun at themselves. 

Our band doesn’t have a singer (and I think we should), but the house band sings and has fun. We are just “noise” in the background so people can sip their beer and eat their bratwurst, waiting for the actual band to start.

Analyzing your audience is essential.  I had humor that was appropriate for college students.  I had terrible puns and experiences that I shared that I felt prepared my students for the “real world.”   

I go out into the audience at Walburg  (just me) to lead the YMCA song with motions or the chicken dance. And, at the end of our program, when we play God Bless America, I am in the audience, getting them to sing with me.  Some of my bandmates don’t like that.  They think I’m a “band person,” not an entertainer!!

I’d like the people to go home happy and satisfied - “A night well spent.” 

*****

We don’t always go someplace to be entertained.  Hopefully, your church services are meaningful, but you don’t need dancing and prancing. There are churches with rock bands - but the emphasis should be on worship, not how well the band performs.

(Lord forgive me - my mind is picturing the worship service maybe seven years ago - where there was a trio of singers that seemed to me (an older person) to be like “Go Go Dancers” for entertainment first - and for worship to be second). 

*****

And, at the end of October - comes Halloween.  Now, Halloween can have two approaches - fun or scary.  I’m a proponent for fun!!!  I loved my colleagues at Dakota State for getting into the swing of Halloween.  It is good to have fun (even in a serious world). 

*****

Get your pumpkin spice “fix,” get outside, enjoy the weather, and have FUN this October!!!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, OCTOBER 2, 2023