By Tabitha Johnston, Shepherdstown Chronicle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Live music, German food and steins of beer could be found at the Bavarian Inn Resort & Brewing Company on Sunday, as the annual Oktoberfest celebration returned for its 47th year.
The celebration was particularly memorable for one group at Oktoberfest this year. According to Schuhplattler und Gebirgstracten Verein Washingtonia, Inc. president Scott Mahle, Sunday marked 60 years of his group performing traditional folk dancing at the Bavarian Inn.
“We are celebrating our 60th year of performing at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown,” Mahle said.
The group’s German name, translated to English, means “Shoe-slapping and Mountain Costume Club of Washington.” And that is what it has been effectively doing for the last century.
“We are a nonprofit group focused on cultural preservation, centered around Bavarian traditional folk dancing,” Mahle said. “We perform all around the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia area, performing traditional dancing brought forth by our founding members in 1923.”
One of the group’s members, Jutta Volkman, could remember all the way back to the first time the group had performed at the Bavarian Inn.
