Steuben Parade in New York
German/American Festival with a French Flair
The 56th annual German-American Steuben Day parade marched down Fifth Avenue but with a French flair. Amid the brass bands, and beer garden omm-pah music themed floats the were French groups celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, the landmark diplomatic accord signed by Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, cementing Franco/German peace and reconciliation.
Thousands of marchers from German/American dance, cultural and sport groups, many in traditional costumes, were joined by groups from Brittany and Alsace among others from Germany and Switzerland.
Parade Marshalls included Warner Roth, a U.S. soccer star from the New York Cosmos, Christian Dinkelacker of the famed brewery, and Harald Leibrecht, the German Parliament's Coordinator of Transatlantic Affairs.
The annual Steuben Day Parade honors the memory of Prussian General Frederich von Steuben, who came to America during the Revolution and played an instrumental role in organizing and training troops for General George Washington's infant Continental Army.
The Parade has become a September tradition in New York along with the Oktoberfest in Central Park adjoining the parade route.
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