New York Celebrates German-American Friendship Month

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- March may have its green shamrocks and green beer, but the flow of hops and barley remains strong in New York throughout the month of September - especially when September is officially known as German-American Friendship Month.

Recognized by the Mayor's office for the fourth consecutive year, German-American – Friendship Month honors the German-American culture and the many contributions made by German immigrants by holding an entire month of celebrations, including the 53rd German-American Steuben Parade.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg will help to kick off the month of festivities with a private reception hosted at the German-style Biergarten at the Standard Hotel, September 1, 2010 from 5 PM to 7 PM. The Biergarten is located at 848 Washington Street in New York City.

This year's German-American Friendship Month will feature a myriad of cultural events such as concerts, movie presentations, lectures - even a pub crawl and yacht cruise around Manhattan featuring New York's number one Alpine rock band, Die Schlauberger. The highlight of Friendship Month will be the traditional German-American Steuben Parade, which will be held on Saturday, September 25th on Fifth Avenue between 67th and 86th streets. The German-American Steuben Parade is known to be one of the most colorful parades in New York City, with more than twenty musical and dance groups from Germany scheduled to perform, many masked and costumed Karneval groups, marchers adorned in traditional Tracht (the historical costumes worn in many German regions), marksmen and more.

The Steuben Parade will be led by two Grand Marshals: the legendary Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Dr. Michael Moller, the Managing Director of Staatliches Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, who are the producers of the fastest growing German beer in the US market, Hofbrau.

Both Grand Marshals shall be on hand at the opening reception, along with Miss German-America, Stephanie Russell-Kraft, Dr. Oliver Schnakenberg, Deputy Consul General of Germany, Dr. Ernst-Peter Brezovsky, Consul General of Austria, Dr. Christoph Bubb, Consul General of Switzerland, Heinz Buck, President of the German-American Committee, and others.

The kick-off celebration is a joint effort between the German American Committee of Greater New York, an umbrella not-for-profit organization that oversees the parade, along with the Standard Hotel Biergarten and Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, Culinary Consultant to the Biergarten and founder of KGNY Restaurant Group. The KG-NY portfolio of restaurants includes Wallse, Cafe Sabarsky at the Naue Galerie, Blaue Gans, and the Upholstery Store wine bar. All feature traditional and nouveau-Austrian and German cuisine.

For additional information about German-American Friendship Month in New York visit:

http://www.germanparadenyc.org.

About the German American Committee of Greater New York: GACGNY is a not-for-profit organization (501c3) registered in the state of New York. The organization oversees the German American Steuben Parade of New York, an annual parade honoring the great achievements of German immigrants in the United States. For more information visit: www.germanparadenyc.org

About KG-NY:  The KGNY Restaurant Group owns and operates several restaurants throughout New York City. Founded by top Austrian chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, the KGNY portfolio of restaurants feature modern interpretations of Austrian cuisine. For more information visit: www.wallse.com

SOURCE KG-NY