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"We have a Chinese member, we have a Puerto Rican member, we have a Peruvian member, we have quite a conglomeration of people here," said First Vice President Amy Swank. "People come here though, because they have some interest in the group or the culture or maybe people for one reason or another."
Swank said while members of the club do not have to be German-born or of German descent, those criteria are required if someone wishes to be president or first vice president.
"I know we have some members who were American soldiers who served in Germany and got to enjoy the culture there so that's why they joined," she said.
The club, which Swank says is the oldest in New England and possibly the third-oldest in the country, has two major events that occur in opposite years of each other. The Christkindlmarkt (pronounced kris-kindle-marked), which occurs in odd-numbered years and takes place on the weekend after Thanksgiving, is a traditional German celebration of Christmas. The other event, which is what the club is more famous for, is the Bierfest, which occurs in even-numbered years.
"Our Bierfest is the closest thing that we can make to a traditional country German bierfest outside of Germany as far as we're concerned," Swank said.
Swank said Bierfest draws about 4,000 people throughout the course of the festival, and features traditional, homemade German food, a German band, German dancing and "wonderful" beer on tap. Don't expect a Bud Light or Heineken though, Swank said those are not "nice" words around the club.
Some of the foods offered are bratwurst, sauerkraut, and potato pancakes, which Swank says are the "best potato pancakes on the face of the Earth."
"They're made from scratch on the premises, there's no mix, no frozen ones, nothing like that," Swank said. "We use about 4,000 pounds of potatoes, if you can imagine, and guys are in the back room grinding them."
If the music and celebrations get too loud, you can go inside the club and go downstairs to the dance hall where quiet music is played and homemade pastries are served.
On the opening day of the festival, the mayor of Newington marches in with the band and the dancers and taps the first keg to take the first drink of the beer to pronounce it "drinkable."
Christkindlmarkt, the celebration occurring this year, is opened with a little girl dressed as an angel who sings a German song, spreads arms out, and lights the Christmas tree for the first time.
"That's wonderful for the children, because it's a child who does this," Swank said. "So the kids always look forward to that."
At the celebration, glühwein (pronounced glue-vine), which is a hot, spiced, red wine is served.
Aside from the two larger events, Swank said the club holds other events throughout the year, and also is trying to attract younger members.
"We have singers, we also have a golf league here, we have folk dancers, we have men in the wintertime that play a game called eisstockschiesen [pronounced i-schtock-sheesen] which is a German version of curling," said Swank.
And also, like Liederkranz, Saengerbund was founded with singing roots, but unlike Liederkranz, this club continues to practice it's tradition.
"The word Saengerbund means 'singing society,'" Swank said. "It was founded in 1858 by a group of men who wanted to preserve German song, so these German immigrants got together back in Hartford and sang together. Competitive singing in Germany is a big deal."
Swank said it is choral singing, and the group has about 40 or 50 members who perform in concerts twice a year, and also Saengerfest, which is a competition between the other German clubs throughout New England.
"At the beginning of the season, [they] choose a particular competitive song that they're going to sing, and they spend the year rehearsing this song," Swank said. "And they get together in June, and they compete with each other singing this song they're been rehearsing all year and prizes are given for this song that they sing."
The Saengerbund club is adorned with trophies, plaques and awards from over the years. Though Swank said the club went through a dry-spot with awards, you couldn't tell just by looking around. The bar room especially is lined with trophies on the wall. Even things like the clock that sits in the corner of the room and a sculpture are awards.
If anyone wants to join the Saengerbund club, Swank said prospective members usually come down to the club on Friday nights, which is located at 719 North Mountain Road, Newington.
"They'd have to have the membership application signed by a member," Swank said. "And it gets posted for a month, the board of directors votes on it the next time [they meet] and I don't think I've ever seen anybody who's not been accepted as a member."
