Festival brings German sights, tastes to Shockoe

It was a beautifully crisp German afternoon, and Carmen Hoge and friends danced to their feet’s delight.

Emily Smith was moving across the brick dance floor with such ease, she danced right out of her shoe at Richmond’s first Shocktoberfest. She laughed a bit but never missed a beat. With much ringing of the cowbells, a bit of high-pitched cackling and a giggle or two, she and partner Derby Sale delighted a crowd gathered around the north end of the 17th Street Farmers’ Market.

With plenty of beer and a line of vendors selling German-style food, the afternoon festival was Richmond’s version of the annual fall celebration in Munich. With local weather mimicking that in the south German town—both were in the 40s with the threat of rain yesterday—it seemed a perfect day for a little Old World-style indulgence.

“There’s a good German community here,“ said Hoge, a Chesterfield County resident for three decades and a longtime member of the Hirschjäger Bavarian Dancers. “We have a lot to offer. We hope people come out and appreciate the culture.“

They certainly appreciated the deft moves displayed by the troupe, a group of German folk dancers that has evolved from its origin years ago as the German club at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County.

“It’s people having fun and enjoying themselves,“ said Beth Smith, a dancer and the mother of Emily and her younger sister, Catherine, as her daughters shared the floor with Sale.

After moving this way and that, Sale found himself with a Smith girl on each arm. With a sturdy grip on their shoulders, he went for a spin, picking up enough speed to get the girls airborne.

Sale and John Britton then engaged in a peculiar dance that involved a mock fight and a wrestling move, of sorts, that left Sale inverted on Britton as Britton danced about. With a look on horror on his face—upside down, nearly scraping the ground between Britton’s legs—Sale managed to elicit a hearty cheer by facial expression alone.

“It’s a good start to get people involved,“ Hoge said, scanning the crowd.

Not far from the dance area, a few steps from one oftwo fire pits—easily the most popular spots in the marketplace, particularly the one by the beer line near Main Street—friends Billy Niece, Chris Greene and Katie Mitchell sipped beers and tried to stay warm.

“I came for a schnitzel,“ Niece said.

“I just wanted to see some German culture,“ Greene said.

That was music to the ears of George Bolos. The director of the Farmers’ Market, he has spent the past year adding events in effort to make the outdoor market a year-round destination.

“We’re just trying to make this place alive all year,“ he said. “We want to try new and different things.“

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .