Von Steuben Day is a holiday traditionally held on a weekend in mid-September (von Steuben was born September 17), celebrating the Prussian-born Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a volunteer offering his services to General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Von Steuben is still regarded as one of the most important German Americans, as his training of the young American troops made victory against the British possible. Thus, his work helped gain independence for the United States of America. The day is generally considered the

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

event of the year, and many participants wear

tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolean and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other Germa ...

costumes, including

dirndl A dirndl () is a feminine dress which originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps. It is traditionally worn by women and girls in some Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.Anette Dralle & Christiane Ma ...

s and

lederhosen The term Lederhosen (; , singular in German usage: ''Lederhose'', ; lit. "Leather Pants") is used in English to refer specifically to the traditional leather breeches worn by men in Southern Germany (specifically in Bavaria and Swabia), Austr ...

, to celebrate their heritage. Celebrations focus on parades where participants march, dance, and play music.

Parades

The German-American Steuben Parade is an annual

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

traditionally held in cities across the United States on Von Steuben Day. The

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

parade is held every third Saturday in September. It was founded in 1957 by immigrants from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

who, part of the most significant self-reported immigrant ancestral group in the United States, wanted to keep the traditions of their German homeland alive. The

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

parade, founded in 1970, is usually held every fourth Saturday in September. The

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

parade was featured in the 1986 film ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...

''. Many parades were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York

While Steuben Day is celebrated in many cities all across the

, the largest crowds gather in

. Every year on the third Saturday in September,

German-Americans German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

celebrate the Annual Steuben Parade on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

and an

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

-style beer fest complete with food and live music in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. The parade was founded in 1957 and has grown into one of the largest celebrations of German and German-American culture in the United States.NYC Steuben Parade Site
/ref> In 2007, German-Americans celebrated the 50th anniversary of this affair and welcomed former US Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

as Grand Marshal and former German chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

as Guest of Honor. In 2017, the parade celebrated its 60th anniversary with Grand Marshals Admiral Nielson from the German Navy along with longtime Parade Volunteer and German-American Community Leader Heinz Buck. But three years later, the parade was canceled on the grounds of

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was deferred to 2021. The first Steuben Parade was held in the German neighborhood of Ridgewood Queens. In 1958, the parade moved to Yorkville, known then as Germantown, and lined up on 86th Street. Over the years, as the event grew more extensive, it drew an ever-larger number of spectators. Soon, it gained the city's recognition and marched up Fifth Avenue, turning onto 86th St, and marching across to First Avenue to cheering crowds. 86th Street was once the heart of Little Germany and was affectionately called the "German Boulevard." It hosted many German shops, Konditereis, Biergartens, Vereins, theaters, restaurants, newspapers, and dance halls. Today, the parade still marches up Fifth Avenue but now ends only at Fifth Avenue and 86th Street. It is led by cadets representing the German Language Club of the Military Academy of West Point, which General von Steuben founded. The three-hour parade is dominated by traditional German groups, spectacular colorful floats, marching bands, clubs, and organizations from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, as well as the US and Canada, wearing their traditional German costumes. The parade honors one or more Grand Marshals, either American citizens with a German background or German citizens with a special relationship to America. Every year, the German-American Steuben Parade is led by cadets representing the German Language Club of the Military Academy of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, which General von Steuben founded. However, it is not a parade in the military tradition. The rest of the about three-hour-long parade is dominated by traditional German brass music groups and marching bands, by clubs and organizations wearing traditional German

Tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolean and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other Germa ...

, as well as by carnival groups, sharpshooters, or representatives of other traditions. For many years, the parade has had a solid Bavarian theme, dominated by men wearing

, women in

, and groups dancing the traditional

Schuhplattler The Schuhplattler is a traditional style of folk dance popular in the Eastern Alps, specifically originating in Upper Bavaria, Tyrol, and Salzburg (state), Salzburg. In this dance, the performers stomp, clap, and strike the soles of their shoes ( ...

. Recently, though, the parade opened up to represent more German themes.

Grand Marshal and Guest of Honor

Every year, the German-American Steuben Parade is led by one or more Grand Marshals, either American citizens with a German background or German citizens with a special relationship with America. The Grand Marshals in 2009 were Congressman Michael McMahon, Fox 5 TV reporter Linda Schmidt, A&P Chairman Christian Haub, and Parade Co-founder Ted Dengler. In previous years, Grand Marshals included Hollywood star Ralf Möller,

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

CEO Duncan Niederauer and Col.

Gail Halvorsen Colonel Gail Seymour Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 – February 16, 2022) was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He rose to fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949, ...

, the "Candy-Bomber" from the 1948–49

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

. In 2007, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the German-American Steuben Parade, the Grand Marshal was former US Secretary of State,

, born in the Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany. The Guest of Honor was Dr. Klaus Scharioth, the German Ambassador to the United States. Also invited was former German chancellor

, known to have a deep personal friendship with America. Steuben Parade 2017

Over the years, many distinguished Germans and Americans have led the Steuben Parade. Former Grand Marshals include

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Siegfried & Roy Siegfried Fischbacher (born Siegfried Tyron Fischbacher; June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn; October 3, 1944 – May 8, 2020) were German-American entertainers who performed an animal-based magic show together ...

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

, Carol Alt,

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

Eric Braeden Eric Braeden (born Hans-Jörg Gudegast; April 3, 1941) is a German-American film and television actor, known for his roles as Victor Newman (fictional character), Victor Newman (from 1980) on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', as H ...

, John Roland, Louis Freeh, Norbert Schramm. Several Mayors of New York City of non-German background have also led the parade, including

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

and

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

. Among the Guests of Honor have been three German presidents:

Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German statesman. A member of the Nazi Party who joined the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and ...

Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...

and

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia fro ...

, as well as other dignitaries from the political and economic fields, including state prime ministers

Erwin Teufel Erwin Teufel (born 4 September 1939, in Zimmern ob Rottweil) is a German politician of the CDU. Political career Teufel was the leader of the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg from 1978 to 1991. Teufel was Minis ...

, Kurt Biedenkopf and Bernhard Vogel.

Parade events

While the German-American Steuben Parade is held on the third Saturday in September, starting at noon, other weekend festivities exist. Usually, up to 35 music and costume groups from overseas are greeted at

City Hall Park City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York. History 17th century David Provoost came to New Netherland as early as 1638, probab ...

on the Friday preceding the parade. On the eve of the parade, a gala benefit banquet takes place as a fundraiser for the parade. The parade leads to the German-American Friendship Party in

. This is the most significant

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

fest in New York, featuring many German brands on tap, as well as traditional German food such as

bratwurst ''Bratwurst'' () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German , from , finely chopped meat, and , sausage, although in modern German it is often associated with the ver ...

Miss German-America

Each May, the German-American Steuben Parade Committee crowns a Miss German-America, who serves as Queen of the Steuben Day Parade in September. She is selected based on her German-American heritage and knowledge of German culture. She is expected to promote the parade, its events, and numerous German festivals throughout the New York region each summer. Past winners include: Nicole Radske (2006), Christina Rom (2007), Melissa Gratzl (2008), Virginia Kovak (2009), Stephanie Russell-Kraft (2010), Denise Manukian (2011), Kirsten Mueller (2012), Kristina Kren (2013) Stefanie Kraker (2014) and Samantha Hart (2015).

Logo

The cornflower is the official flower and the logo of the German-American Steuben Parade of New York City, as it widely grows in both Germany and the United States. Also, the color blue symbolizes friendship and hope. In addition, the Cornflower was the national Flower of Prussia since its introduction by Kaiser

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

to honor his mother Queen

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine children, inclu ...

and because of its color (

prussian blue Prussian blue (also known as Berlin blue, Brandenburg blue, Parisian and Paris blue) is a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. It has the chemical formula . It consists of cations, where iron is in the oxidat ...

Organization

The German-American Steuben Parade Committee organizes the parade and all related events. Since 2014, the committee has been led by General Chairman Bob Radske. The two Vice Chairwomen are Nicole Miskiewicz and Melissa Alke-Sparnroft. The committee membership consists of representatives of many German-American organizations from the New York metropolitan area, some involved in founding the parade in 1957. The Steuben Parade is overseen by the German-American Committee of Greater New York, a not-for-profit organization registered in New York with

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

status.

Philadelphia

To celebrate the accomplishments of Baron von Steuben, the Philadelphia Von Steuben Day Parade is 50 miles from Valley Forge, where Steuben trained the Revolutionary Army. Philadelphia is where the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

met to sign the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. It was also home to

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, sent to France by the Continental Congress. It was during this trip that Franklin was introduced to von Steuben. In addition, in 1683,

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

invited the thirteen German families from Krefeld to join his "Grand Experiment". They eventually settled and founded Germantown, now a section of Philadelphia. In 1983, a parade celebrated the 300th anniversary of the founding of Germantown. At that time, a group from Krefeld brought the Tri-Centennial Bike, a thirteen-seat bicycle that has become a feature of our annual parade.

Parade events

While the German–American Steuben Parade is held on the fourth Saturday in September, starting at noon, other weekend festivities exist. On the eve of the parade, a gala benefit banquet is held at the Cannstatter Volksfest Verein. On Parade day itself, the day begins with an Ecumenical Service at 10:00 am. After the parade, participants are welcome to join the

held by the Bavarian Volksfest Verein on the grounds of the United German-Hungarian Club.

Organization

The Steuben Day Observance Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity organize the parade and all related events. The association is led by General Chairman Thomas Markow and two Vice Chairmen, Werner Fricker and James Schwartz. The association's membership consists of representatives of many German-American organizations from the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The Steuben Day Observance Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity is a not-for-profit organization registered in Pennsylvania with 501(c)3 status.

Von Steuben Day in pop culture

The

parade was in the 1986

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

movie ''

'', even though other movie details indicate that the film takes place near the end of the school year, not in September or on a Saturday. ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...

'', season 2 episode 8 "Philadelphia", as retold by Nick Rutherford features

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...

as Baron von Steuben.

References

External links

German American National Congress

German-American Steuben Parade

German-American Steuben Parade of New York

United German-American Societies of Greater Chicago

Official Website of the Steuben Parade of Philadelphia

Bavarian Groups in New York
{{American Revolutionary War, state=collapsed Public holidays in the United States German-American culture German-American history Holidays related to the American Revolution September observances Saturday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)

Day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

de:Steubenparade fr:Von Steuben Day

Parades

New York

Grand Marshal and Guest of Honor

Parade events

Miss German-America

Logo

Organization

Philadelphia

Parade events

Organization

Von Steuben Day in pop culture

See also

References

External links