Lustige Leute Newsletter August 2021

It's hard to believe that in mere weeks, school will be back in session, Oktoberfests will start up, and cooler days will be around the corner.  Right now, it's hot!  But it has been comfortably cooler in Houston this summer.  It's been wetter too, until about a week ago.  We hope your summer has been treating you well! 

We thought we'd have time this month to get our Oktoberfest rehearsals going, but other obligations have slowed all of that down.  Where does the time go?  What did happen between the chaos?  Ross wrote his first original tune; a polka that's quite catchy!  I don't even know if the song has a name yet, but seeing as how we now have about 10 songs between the two of us that we've composed in the past 18 months, we need to get ourselves in to the studio to record!  Looking at our schedule, that process most likely won't start until next January / February. 

July / August performances: 

Saturday July 31, POP UP! at the Kuckuck's Nest, 3150 N State Highway 16, Fredericksburg, TX.  Playing music from 12 - 3pm while you shop for new outfits for Oktoberfest!  All of our band merchandise will be available for sale as well!

Wednesday, August 4, Christ The Lord Lutheran VBS Alief Fine Arts Camp. 4410 S Kirkwood Rd, Houston. Focus on Alpine Horn and Cowbells edutainment; 6:30 - 8:30. 

Thursdays August 5, 12, 26, 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!  Oh, and our friend Randy Adams from Auf Geht's will be there Thursday Aug 19! 

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  Call ahead for reservations  405-799-7666 

Sunday August 22; 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 through the Oktoberfest season.  We'll be there some days, other musicians may be there Thursdays when we're on the road. 

Saturday and Sunday Sept 4 - 5; Walburg Fest at the Walburg German Restaurant, 3777 Fm 972, Walburg Walburg, Texas.  Back to back with Walburg Boys and Alpenmusikanten; Show times TBA 

Friday Sept 10; Bavarian Brauhaus, 109 N Main, Bryan, TX; 6:30 - 10pm; The Duo 

Sunday Sept 12; The White Horse Tavern, 400 N Main, Burton, TX, Times TBA.  Owner Allison is celebrating her birthday, and she wants you to celebrate with her!  Purchase drinks at the bar, but BYOD (bring your own dinner / snacks) as Allison will only cook on the dance floor, not in the kitchen. 

Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept 14 - 15; Oktoberfest at Fresh by Brookishire, Tyler, TX; 5pm - 8pm.  Party on the patio! 

Thursday - Sunday Sept 16 - 19; Addison Oktoberfest, Addison Circle Park; Valina is MC all 4 days. Band plays each day at the Music Stage, located outdoors in the park. 

Thursday - Saturday Sept 23 - 25; Okotberfest Fort Worth, Panther Island Pavilion; Valina is MC Thursday, Band plays Friday and Saturday. 

Friday - Sunday Oct 1 - 3; Saint Arnold Oktoberfest, at Saint Arnold Brewery in Houston, TX; Band and folk dancers all three days.  Times TBA.  This is our only Oktoberfest performance in the Houston area that is open to the public. 

Host your own Christmas party!  Call us for pricing and availability if you have something to celebrate in November / December!  We're available to play for you as a duo unplugged, or we can bring specialty folk instruments.  Nothing says Christmas like German Christmas carols!  Need an authentic European (Dutch) Saint Nick?  We can offer that as well!  Our Saint Nick is fluent in Dutch and German, and knows the history of how Saint Nick came to be. His beard is real, and his robes are hand made. 

Hosting our trips to Europe   Both trips for the summer of 2022 are close to capacity.  Would you like to travel with us to Germany and the Czech Republic, Tuesday June 7 - Tuesday June 21, 2022?  Or to the Black Forest and Switzerland June 22 - July 7, 2022?  Our small groups have a ton of fun together!  Can't choose?  There is an option (and a discount) if you go on both trips.  We have asked the hotels about adding space for just one more couple.  The number of guests for each trip will not exceed 26.  If you're interested, let us know soon!  https://www.prostyall.com/lustig-tours-holiday 

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 to return to Austria, so unless we're forced to postpone again, Austria is on the 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" sign is available for sale too!  We have a few left, and more are coming just in time for the Oktoberfest season.  Won't that look awesome on the wall of your favorite relaxation spot!  We also have shirts, hat pins, and CD's that can make great gifts for your Biergarten loving friends. 

Social Media:  You can find us 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. 

Behind the scenes:  Our one day off this month was July 4; spent in Round Top for a very rainy, but joyful Independence Day celebration.  The Round Top Brass Band, Cool Freddy and The Crew and the jam session were all just so fun to sit back and relax to.  The food was amazing, the company even more so.  I drank more beer this one day than I had in months!  Ross was designated driver this time, so he ate an extra couple of slices of pecan spice cake while I slurped and burped.  That Altstadt goes down smooooooth!  We made the most out of that one day off.  After the event at Rifle Hall ended, we went to hang out for another few hours with some friends who were staying in a B&B in the area.  According to them, the fireworks we watched were coming from Rick Perry's property.  We were just happy to chill out with friends, see the stars in the sky, laugh, talk, and see a few good explosions too.  July 5, we were back at work; Ross rehearsing on his various instruments, learning a few new songs, and I was in the office for a couple of weeks working on the tours.  It seemed to rain non stop for 3 weeks, so we had a few situations to deal with because of saturated ground and all that water, but somehow, we got it all taken care of.  Ross also was still dealing with the shoulder pain coming and going, so we've been to the specialist.  The Dr moved things around, poked and prodded, and asked lots of questions.  After working with Ross for about 20 minutes, he gave him a steroid shot, and sent us home.  He seemed to think this would eventually work loose, so Ross has been being careful, doing lots of stretches, and I've had to do a little more of the heavy work around here to fill the void of my usually strong sturdy hubby.  He is feeling better, so that's good!  We may look like we're fussy sometimes, but we make a good team.  We are again in dire need of a day off though.  This weekend, we're working in Fredericksburg at the Kuckucks Nest on Saturday, then a 60th anniversary on Sunday.  Just the change of scenery and the cabin our client is providing us to stay in will help restore us, and we'll be ready to keep working on Monday when we get home!  Summer around here in southeast Texas has been pretty mild.  A little cooler than normal, a lot wetter than normal, but no severe weather so far, and we're thankful.  Conversely, people in Europe and the far east are having a very difficult time with extreme weather and severe flooding.  Some people losing everything.  Our own country's north and west coast are dealing with extreme temperatures and devastating fires.  It's all so overwhelming.  Our prayer lists have been overflowing for weeks.  We wish there was more we could do.  We just keep going, and trying to be kind to others, and hope that a little of what we do will spill over to help somewhere along the way. 

That's all for this newsletter.  Your support and friendship means so much to us!  Stay healthy, stay safe, share a smile with a stranger, and we hope we get to "prost y'all" somewhere soon!

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