Cannstatter Volksfest Verein 2024

Just north of Philadelphia is Cannstatter Volksfest Verein, a German-American social club that hosts an amazing festival every September over the Labor Day weekend. This year (2024) was the 152nd Volksfest.

Sign over the parking lot entrance

Seal on the building

While it is not advertised as an Oktoberfest, it sure felt like it. One tent had a wheel of fortune, which we did not try. The prize was meat, which would have been tempting if we had been closer to home.

Waiting for more contestants

In addition to the bands playing polkas and German folk music, occasional performances like the one below entertained the crowd. They were trying to convince the old lady to go down the slide. It seemed like a comedy but the kids wanted to move on so we never found out what the final resolution was.

Seems like some very specific architecture--what's it used for the rest of the year?

Carnival rides were available. The older kids joined me on the tilt-a-whirl, then the youngest took a spin on the swings.

Slides and swings

Teacup ride

Was the tilt-a-whirl the right choice?

Caged

Caged and slanted

Swinging

Happy 

Excited

We had dinner there with plenty of German items available. My wife wanted to try the maultaschen, a meat-filled dumpling. We were late, though, and it had sold out! Among the items we bought and shared were potato pancakes (with sour cream and apple sauce), soft pretzels, bratwurst, and wiener schnitzel. 

Some of the food items

I had a Bavarian hefeweizen which was delicious.

Not a traditional Oktoberfest cup, sadly

Cotton-candy dessert

They had bands playing music but we never managed to dance. The people on the dance floor looked like they were having fun. A lot of them were dancing with beers in hand!

The festival also featured a fruit column, which was a small tower made of (or just decorated with?) fruit. We didn't get the story on it. I suppose it is a celebration of the harvest.

Fruit column

Hopefully we can convince the kids to go again next year!

Random Bits of Philly 2021

Here's some stuff that didn't make its own post from out 2021 trip to Philadelphia!

We saw the outside of the Federal Reserve Building, part of the national bank.

Federal Reserve Building

Federal Reserve sign

Chinatown has a fun arch as well as some dragons guarding a parking lot.

The arch

It's safe to leave your car here!

We went to a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown, which was met by different reactions.

Exquisite!

Where are the chicken nuggets?

Near our hotel was a small park with a large globe but not many visitors.

Checking out the world

Pigeons were the only other visitors

We saw William Penn atop City Hall looking out for us!

Penn in the distance

Also near our hotel is one of the largest farmers' markets in the country, the Reading Terminal Market. The market was one end of the Reading Railroad. The inside was busy each time we went in.

Reading Terminal Market

A busy joint

Walking around on a rainy day meant that some of the tall buildings disappear!

Skyscrapers are more like sky-erasers

There are plenty of murals around town, adding a splash of color to the area.

Flowery goodness

City Hall did not disappear in the clouds, though we never got close enough to tour or get very good pictures. 

City Hall

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is home to lots of museums and sculptures. We saw this sagacious fellow in a park across from the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

Unidentified sculpture

Further on, we saw this statue of General Uriah Galusha Pennypacker. I'm sure you've heard of him. He joined the Pennsylvania Volunteers at age 16 to fight in the American Civil War. He was promoted quickly, rising to the rank of general before he was twenty-one! 

General Pennypacker

Just outside the Free Library is a memorial to Shakespeare.

Shakespeare Memorial

The Free Library of Philadelphia

A memorial to American Civil War soldiers is further up the street.

Civil War Memorial

A large oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is home to an equestrian statue of George Washington. He is surrounded by four sets of statues representing the four major rivers in America: the Delaware (right next to the city!), the Mississippi, the Hudson, and the Potomac.

Washington on horseback

A weaver of nets

A catcher of fish

A nearby sign claims that Philadelphia was home to the first Thanksgiving Day parade.

History on a stick!

Just below the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a statue of Rocky, since he dramatically ran up the steps in his eponymous movie. The line to get a picture with the statue was quite long, so we just took some snaps from a distance.

Beloved local Rocky Balboa

Rocky: The Next Generation

We ascended the steps for more posing.

Rainy Rocky Routine

The museum has an impressive exterior and is one of the largest collections of art in America.

East(?) wing of the museum

Center with inoperative fountain

West (?) wing

View from the top of the steps

Near Independence Park is a cool hotel that has the sort of balconies I would hang out on if I could.

Why only three?

Wandering around the streets, we discovered this recreation of the house where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. You can't miss it because of their sign.

A house like in the good old days

The sign

The bas relief of a symbolic figure holding another smaller symbolic figure caught my attention.

Plus the owl on the chairback!

Since it was Memorial Day, some construction equipment had flags on display.

Yay, America!