Ach du lieber, where did June go? We've already reached the halfway mark, and there are only 174 shopping days till Christmas... EEK! Independence Day is this weekend and there's a cool front on the way to Texas?!? Okay, now I'll believe the world is going crazy. But never fear, we still have German folk music and Biergartens to enjoy it in, so there's that!
Our June was quite busy; It started wonderfully with the Tomball German Heritage Festival celebrating its 20th anniversary! We're so happy Grady and Sandra were both there all weekend to celebrate with everyone, since they are the grand Oma and Opa who started those German festivals in Tomball back in 2001. Tens of thousands came out to be around other happy people, enjoy the music, shop, eat, drink, and dance, and they didn't let the weather dampen their spirits (or water down their Bier!) They came determined to have a good time and take in all the smiling faces! It always takes a couple of days for all the entertainers, MC's and volunteers to recover from the 3 days of festival, no sleep, and adrenaline rush we all get from being part of the Tomball German festivals. We were just barely recovered in time for the gigs Thursday and Friday the next week! But we made it through and had wonderful shows in several new places! We met many of you just this past month, and we're so glad to know you!
July performances:
Thursdays July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, The Sauer Kraut Grill at 734 Crabb River Rd, in Richmond, Texas from 6 - 8pm. Stubenmusi (pub style performance - unplugged, sometimes unhinged!) Owner Eric is almost always there, cooking, serving and visiting with clients. They have excellent food, and a great Bier (lots of import, and local craft brews, even Texas' own German brew, Altstadt!) and Wein selection! Picnic tables outside if you like to dine in the fresh air. We'll come out and play for you if you like, just ask us!
Friday July 9; The White Horse Tavern, 400 N Main, Burton, TX, from 7pm - 10pm. This is our second show here; The owner, Allison is also a musician playing accordion and singing. She does all the cooking and serving, so you're guaranteed a warm welcome and true Texas hospitality the way it used to be! One evening in Allison's place, and you'll feel restored!
Sunday July 25; Krause's Cafe, 148 S Castell, New Braunfels, TX, from 2 - 5pm. Spend the weekend in New Braunfels; Schlitterbahn, float the river, relax at Canyon Lake, and spend Sunday having a mid-day Liter of beer, and some cool German folk music.
Other locations and dates could be added; If that happens, we'll send out a Schnelletter to update you, and of course, you're always welcome to come to our website, or give us a call.
Looking ahead:
Thursdays at the Sauer Kraut Grill continue in August, but on August 19, we'll be driving to Oklahoma for shows, so our friend Randy Adams will be at there!
Friday and Saturday, August 20 and 21; Royal Bavaria Restaurant, 3401 S Sooner Rd, Moore, OK; Two shows each night; 5:30 - 7:15, 7:45 - 9:30
Sunday August 22 at Krause's Cafe in New Braunfels, TX
Host your own summertime party! Call us for pricing and availability if you have something to celebrate in July / August! We're available to play for you as a duo unplugged, or we can bring specialty folk instruments, have our fiddler, tubist or drummer join us, and even bring a party pack of Paulaner goodies with us to set the atmosphere, and fun gifts for the host!
Hosting our trips to Europe Things are beginning to open again in European countries. Our service providers and we are optimistic that we'll get to go on our twice postponed itinerary to Germany and the Czech Republic. We now will depart on Tuesday June 7, 2022. That trip will end on Tuesday June 21. A second trip will begin with departure from the US on Wednesday June 22 and end on Thursday July 7. The second trip will visit Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany's Black Forest. We are still watching Europe closely for updates. Things seem to be improving with more vaccinations happening there. We are bound by many factors beyond our control, but will do our best to provide you the best experience we can. Our small groups have a ton of fun together! There will be an option to go on both trips, so if you're interested, please let us know! We'll make sure to give you all the details as they come in. If you'd like to join us for travel to Europe in the future, we'd love to have you! There have been many requests for more Austria, so unless we're forced to postpone again, Austria is on our wish list in 2023.
Website: You can always find out what's happening with us at http://www.prostyall.com. We update our calendar as information becomes available, and always keep the upcoming gigs and last minute changes on the home page. The shop page https://www.prostyall.com/shop has brand new koozies that fit party cups, pint glasses and Wurstfest cups! The famous "Prost Y'all" license plate is now available for sale too! We have a few left, and we'll get some more in stock just in time for the Oktoberfest season. Won't that look awesome on the wall of your favorite relaxation spot! There's a photo of it attached to this e-mail. We also have lots of shirts, hat pins, and CD's that can make great gifts for your Biergarten loving friends. Check the calendar page for Oktoberfest dates. We'll be in Addison, Fort Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City, and New Braunfels. We're pending to go to Tulsa.
Social Media: We can be found on Facebook, and Youtube. You can subscribe to our Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/valinapolka , friend us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/valinapolka "like" us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prostyall/ We have an instagram, but don't know how to use it.
Thought we'd share this video again, special for Independence Day; Ross playing Stars and Stripes at Mt Rushmore! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjNpAdXhe7s
Behind the scenes: June has been an emotional roller coaster for us. The Tomball German festival was a rush of happy and healing emotions seeing so many friends healthy and happy together in one place. The shadow of fear cleared from their eyes! Also, the excitement of getting to present the song I wrote for Tomball at the festival itself, accompanied by the Round Top Brass Band, who took Ross' accordion arrangement, and arranged it for their 20 brass and woodwind pieces! Some new gigs in new places, making lots of new friends was great. June 20 was my dad's 80th birthday, another happy occasion! Then several losses shortly after that. A good friend and band mate lost his Mother, then Ross' favorite cousin in south Texas passed, then Ross' Aunt passed a couple of days later. Inside of 10 days, we've attended 3 funerals. One where Ross sang and played some accordion. I don't know how he turns his emotions off when he does those things. He always amazes me. On the evening before leaving for South Texas, he started having shoulder pain, which by the next morning was very severe. We got on the road to south Texas, and he was able to do what he promised for his cousins, but little else. As long as we could put the accordion on him, he could play it. Coming home Thursday, we went straight to the Urgent Care to have his shoulder looked at. No clear diagnosis, but nothing on the x-ray. The steroid and muscle relaxer prescribed did the trick. We hired our Niece to be a roadie for the weekend, paying her to help us with all the heavy lifting, and also running cables, which often puts us in difficult positions when an arm can not be extended. If she had not been available to help, we would have been forced to cancel those gigs. With a couple more days' rest and accordion rehearsal, he's mostly better now, and not needing the meds any more. He's dealing with the rotating emotions of loss of a loved one, so has not been himself, but he feels a bit better. I had some dental work done in mid June, which left some very sensitive spots, which have made quite a bit of discomfort when eating. Some days, the pain was pretty intense. Nothing is wrong, and it's slowly improving. I'm still about a week behind in work, but tackling the stack slow and steady. If I can get this mess under control, then we can go do the last painting job on our calendar. We're both pretty ready for a day off, and we plan to spend it on Sunday July 4.
We're thankful for you, our friends who enjoy and support our music, and who read our monthly mailers. We're thankful for the new friends we're making in so many places! Y'all stay healthy, stay safe and we hope to see you somewhere soon! Happy Independence Day!