As if our friends and family didn't already think we were crazy for moving from Seattle to this sweet little Bavarian Village in the mountains......we have now fully immersed ourselves in living the "theme-town life" by dressing in dirndls and lederhosen. This past weekend was Leavenworth's annual Maifest celebration!
We marched in the parade on Saturday - Cora and me in our authentic Bavarian dirndls. I recently became aware of the fact that not everyone knows what a dirndl is (my friends in Seattle were like "a what?!" when I mentioned my new one). A dirndl is "a woman's dress with a full gathered skirt and fitted bodice; originating from Tyrolean peasant wear [German (Bavarian and Austrian): shortened from Dirndlkleid, from Dirndl little girl + Kleid dress]".
Torrey proudly wore his newest lederhosen - "short leather pants of a kind worn with suspenders by men and boys in the Alps" (Origin: German: lederhosen; leder, leather + hose, pants). Now I get to put a little plug in for my husband's idea of business venture "Landgraf's Lederhosen Lounge", where he sells authentic lederhosen in a variety of sizes and colors. He's starting by posting
ads on craigslist and through word-of-mouth, but hopes to grow his business in time of Oktoberfest! So, if your man needs a nice pair of lederhosen for this year's O'fest celebration, you know where to send him!
Following the Maifest parade, Torrey competed in the annual "lederhosen" contest and won "best looking man in lederhosen" by showing off his fancy moves. I don't know if anyone in the audience had seen someone do the worm or the moonwalk in lederhosen before. I doubt they were "authentic" German moves, but nonetheless, it seemed to please the crowd.
This year Maifest celebration included Mother's Day festivities on Sunday. Staci and her mom, Jeannie competed in the "Mother-Daughter Look Alike" contest in their matching outfits and sunglasses - all compliments of Mapel! My mom and I also wore matching Mapel tops (remember that Kersh paisley cardi from the fall - still valid!) In case you missed out this year, plan on joining us for Maifest activities next year!
