OU’s German Club is participating in this year’s Kris Kringle Market in downtown Rochester during Thanksgiving weekend, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 28 and 29, on East University between East and Water streets.
The Kris Kringle Market is inspired by the 700-year-old tradition of the German Christkindlmärkt, or Christmas Market, where visitors enjoy the food, shopping, entertainment and ambience of an open-air, holiday market.
From noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, the German Club will assist in the kids’ activities area, which includes arts and crafts, and storytelling. The GTEV “Edelweiss” organization will entertain the crowd with traditional Bavarian folk music.
“It's a great chance for the German Club to meet members of the community, especially young children,” said Molly Rowland, president of the OU German Club. “It allows us to become role models and help the children out with different types of activities.”
The market will be open from noon to 9 p.m. each day and will offer hand-crafted gifts, ornaments, fresh holiday greens, baked goods, traditional German hot spiced wine and much more.
The Opening Ceremony from 6:15-7 p.m. on Friday will feature musical entertainment by Schwäbischer Männerchor of Detroit, an all-male German chorus, and a special appearance from St. Nick and his real reindeer.
The OU German Club meets every other Monday from 5-6:15 p.m. in 416 Wilson Hall. The group plays German games, enjoys German food and discusses current events. This semester, club members traveled to Stratford, Ontario, to see the German play, "Emilia Galotti."
Oakland University’s hometown, Rochester, and OU partner on a variety of reciprocal business and academic ventures as part of a formal partnership signed in 2003.
For more information about the Kris Kringle Market, visit www.DowntownRochesterMI.com or contact the Rochester DDA office at (248) 656-0060.