28. August, Day 4 - Old World Huntington Beach

On Sunday, we get to sleep in a little. However, we have to be out of our rooms by 10 and board the buses in dirndls and lederhosen.
During a small breakfast on the bus, we drive to our venue today: The Old World Biergarten in Huntington Beach. The place for Oktoberfest in California - and today we play there for 3 hours.
The Old World is a small village whose houses visually resemble what you know from an old Bavarian village, and in the beer garden there is traditional German food and even German beer. The food doesn't blow us away, but the intention is recognizable, and with the rustic German sayings on the wooden ceiling beams, we almost feel at home.

At 12:30 PM, we start our performance - initially with a small audience. However, more and more people come during the gig and the atmosphere is really good. Our music is also broadcast live outside, so we don't know exactly how many people are actually listening to us.

During the lunch break, our small ensemble takes over again before the entire youth band really gets going. In addition to many polkas, symphonic upper level pieces such as The Lion King Soundtrack Highlights or 76 Trombones are unpacked and played as well and as focused as ever! The audience is thrilled - so are we - and a man even holds his baby up during Lion King to recreate the scene from the movie.

This performance will probably be hard to beat, because the feeling was truly unique! There are also some Germans in the audience who have emigrated to the USA, or Americans who speak German and/or have lived in Germany for a while. That's why after our performance - the audience almost didn't want us to stop - we are approached by many people and engaged in interesting conversations.

Even after we have dismantled and cleaned up and look around a bit, many of the Americans still want to take a photo with us in traditional costume.
We stay in Huntington Beach until 8 PM before we settle in the bus for the night and head towards San Francisco. But before that, we stop again at In 'n' Out Burger, where everyone gets something to eat.

On the 12-hour drive, there are several stops for driver changes, refueling, bathroom breaks, and stretching our legs, and most of us manage to get some sleep, contrary to all expectations. In the uncomfortable and cramped school bus and on the bumpy roads, that is a true art.