MONROE - The 51st annual Swissfest is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in the Grand Hall of the Turner Hall of Monroe, 1217 17th Ave.
Sharing the stage and program along with the Monroe Swiss Singers are two other Green County staples, the Mannerchor New Glarus and the New Glarus Yodel Club. Alphorns, accordions, Swiss-coin rolling, Swiss flag-throwing and yodeling again will be part of the show.
When the Monroe Swiss Singers held its first Swissfest in November 1963, the 19 charter members at that time didn't know the event would still be going strong 50-plus years later with a membership of more than 40 singers. Although some of the faces in both the mixed choir and the audience have changed over the years, the Monroe Swiss Singers' annual trademark event remains synonymous with Swiss folk music and entertainment, carrying on the traditions and culture brought to south-central Wisconsin by its Swiss forbears.
The Madison Mannerchor will be the featured guest performer this year. Established in 1852, the German men's choir is the oldest German singing organization in Wisconsin and the second oldest in the United States. Directed by Garrett Debbink, the group currently has 26 active singers and performs frequently at Madison-area events. A member of the German North American Singers Association, the choir earned a first-place rating in 2015 at the Wisconsin German Singing Festival in Milwaukee.
Other guest performers will include solo alphornist John Knechtenhofer of western Missouri and local accordionists John Waelti and Bobbie Edler. Monroe Swiss Singers members Mary Zimmerman and Lynn Liechti will sing "Yodeling Through Life," a song recorded by Roger Bright, accompanied by Waelti and Edler. In addition to Swiss folk music, the program will include the performance of two American folk songs, "Oh, Shenandoah" and "This Land is Your Land," sung by the Monroe Swiss Singers.
General seating tickets are $10 in advance through Saturday at Turner Hall's Ratskeller Restaurant or at Orange Kitten Yarns on the south side of Monroe's Square, or $12 at the door. Tickets for children in kindergarten through 12th grade are $1, and preschoolers are free.
Grand Hall doors will open at 1:30 p.m. The Ratskeller Restaurant in the lower level of Turner Hall will be open after the program, featuring a variety of Swiss entrees as well as American favorites.
The Turner Hall of Monroe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Established in 1868, it is the only Turner, or gymnast, Hall of Swiss origin still operating in the U.S. Following the original structure's destruction by fire in 1936, the current building was designed by German architect Max Hanisch and re-opened in 1938. The Turner Hall of Monroe will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2018. More information is available at www.TurnerHallofMonroe.org.
Sharing the stage and program along with the Monroe Swiss Singers are two other Green County staples, the Mannerchor New Glarus and the New Glarus Yodel Club. Alphorns, accordions, Swiss-coin rolling, Swiss flag-throwing and yodeling again will be part of the show.
When the Monroe Swiss Singers held its first Swissfest in November 1963, the 19 charter members at that time didn't know the event would still be going strong 50-plus years later with a membership of more than 40 singers. Although some of the faces in both the mixed choir and the audience have changed over the years, the Monroe Swiss Singers' annual trademark event remains synonymous with Swiss folk music and entertainment, carrying on the traditions and culture brought to south-central Wisconsin by its Swiss forbears.
The Madison Mannerchor will be the featured guest performer this year. Established in 1852, the German men's choir is the oldest German singing organization in Wisconsin and the second oldest in the United States. Directed by Garrett Debbink, the group currently has 26 active singers and performs frequently at Madison-area events. A member of the German North American Singers Association, the choir earned a first-place rating in 2015 at the Wisconsin German Singing Festival in Milwaukee.
Other guest performers will include solo alphornist John Knechtenhofer of western Missouri and local accordionists John Waelti and Bobbie Edler. Monroe Swiss Singers members Mary Zimmerman and Lynn Liechti will sing "Yodeling Through Life," a song recorded by Roger Bright, accompanied by Waelti and Edler. In addition to Swiss folk music, the program will include the performance of two American folk songs, "Oh, Shenandoah" and "This Land is Your Land," sung by the Monroe Swiss Singers.
General seating tickets are $10 in advance through Saturday at Turner Hall's Ratskeller Restaurant or at Orange Kitten Yarns on the south side of Monroe's Square, or $12 at the door. Tickets for children in kindergarten through 12th grade are $1, and preschoolers are free.
Grand Hall doors will open at 1:30 p.m. The Ratskeller Restaurant in the lower level of Turner Hall will be open after the program, featuring a variety of Swiss entrees as well as American favorites.
The Turner Hall of Monroe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Established in 1868, it is the only Turner, or gymnast, Hall of Swiss origin still operating in the U.S. Following the original structure's destruction by fire in 1936, the current building was designed by German architect Max Hanisch and re-opened in 1938. The Turner Hall of Monroe will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2018. More information is available at www.TurnerHallofMonroe.org.
