Munich on the Lake
Does it qualify as a cultural event if you can enjoy a cold
one while supervising the kids? You bet! Just ask the crowd transfixed by the
German folk dancing of Bavarian Verein Alpengruen at Irondequoit’s 18th Annual
Oktoberfest.
It’s a family-friendly atmosphere. Like a huge wedding
reception, everyone between 2 and 102 gets on the dance floor. That takes the
pressure off those of us who ought to know better.
Oktoberfest is held in three huge tents at Camp Eastman on
Lake Shore Boulevard. The food court is in the middle. Bands play in the tents
on either side. With seating in long rows of tables, there’s plenty of European-style
camaraderie even among the teetotalers.
Activities for the kids include making mosaic framed mirrors
and something called crunchy rock candy art. Must be a German thing.
My 12-year-old son says, “I really like Oktoberfest. The
food is bizarre and good. Let’s just say it’s definitely not a Big Mac.” When
pressed for details about his $9 schnitzel dinner from Swan’s, he added, “The
side of red cabbage mixes tart, sweet, and bitter tastes. It’s really
excellent!” Ditto the Black Forest torte from Helmut’s.
Oktoberfest continues this weekend with Germany’s Bodensee
Express and other bands. Hours are Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24, 12
to 11 p.m., Sunday, September 25, 12 to 6 p.m. Admission is $6, $3 on September
23, 12 to 3 p.m., kids under 6 free. Additional fees for children’s activities.
www.irondequoit.org, 336-6070.
— Linda Kostin (www.junkstorecowgirl.com)
The grand experiment
I often tell new parents, “Welcome to the Great Adventure.”
Parenting is certainly that, and I like spoofing the notion that when you have
kids, the adventurous part of your life is effectively over. But I think it’s
more accurate to call it “The Grand Experiment.”
Once I was telling my father about some fashionable piece of
parenting advice, and he said, “Yes, everything your parents did was wrong,
everything your grandparents did was right.” He didn’t mean it defensively;
rather, it has ever been so. Sort of.
We think about how we were brought up, reject or embrace
various bits, read, get advice, and meditate. Then we stand at the tennis net
of life while our little Roger Federers whack balls by our not-so-prepared
selves, and we improvise. It’s hopelessly complicated, and we’re all born to
lose.
The Grand Experiment has thousands of variables and no
controls, with the outcomes no less than the lives of our children. If the
action weren’t constant, we’d be paralyzed by the enormity of the task.
The good news, as any parent of more than one child can
attest, is we don’t have that much
control. We can screw up our little darlings a little, or soften a few blows,
but largely, they become what they become. I often feel that the real work of
parenting is in remembering that my children are individuals, not extensions of
or reflections upon myself. “Experiment” might be the wrong metaphor
altogether. But why do I so often feel like a mad scientist?
— Adam A. Wilcox
This week for families
The Rochester
Children’s Theatre opens its fall season — and celebrates its 15th
anniversary — on Sunday, September 25, with Androcles and the Lion, the first show RCT ever produced. The shows
are at Nazareth College Arts Center, 4245 East Avenue, at 2 and 4 p.m. There
will be a birthday party, too, with balloons, cake, and crafts. Tickets are
$10. 389-2170, www.rochesterchildrenstheatre.org
This article appears in Sep 21-27, 2005.
