European School celebrates Oktoberfest

“It provides a great opportunity — coming as it does at the beginning of the school year — for new families to get plugged into the school and the community,” said Patricia Tzeng, director of development at TES. “It is also a very safe, fun-filled occasion so families feel comfortable bringing their children, even young ones.” Tzeng estimated the crowd at between 400 and 500.

Admission was free — “Volkswagen,” said Tzeng, “provided generous sponsorship, which enabled us to cover the costs.” A few of its latest models were also available for participants to check out and even test drive. The scent of delicious German-style sausages along with expected goodies like sauerkraut — all prepared under the management of Michael Wendel, owner of Wendel’s German Bakery and Bistro — wafted throughout the Swire European Primary Campus, drawing long lines of hungry fans. Coca-Cola soft drinks as well as Warsteiner and Koenig Ludwig beer were on tap to slate thirsty throats.

The TES jazz and rock bands took turns performing, to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd, as did the TES drama club. Between sets, the stage became a dance floor for the daring.

Such events, said John Nixon, CEO of the Taipei European School, are reflective of cultural events in Europe. According to Nixon, the school has included celebrating such festivals throughout the year when appropriate as part of its mission statement.

“It is really a great community event,” said Nixon, “especially for families. The children have a lot of fun with the activities and meeting up with their friends, while the adults also get a good chance to interact with the teachers and fellow parents.”From left to right, TES mothers Christina Bortolin, Helen Hulleman, Paula Hughes and Claudia Bischof satisfy the crowd’s thirst with cold beer.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email