"Ein Prosit"
by Kristen Wolenberg, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Public Relations & Marketing Intern
Flowers After 5
Last Thursday was my first Flowers After 5 and certainly won’t be my last! This summer I’m a Public Relations intern for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and it has been an amazing experience. There is always something going on! I attended Flowers After 5 in order to gain a better understanding of all the events, and it was nice to see a different side of the Garden in the evening. I walked around taking pictures of visitors, and after looking through them I realized that there isn’t a bad photo! The backdrop is gorgeous and with the sun setting it created a flawless scenery. It looks more like a painting than reality.
Flowers After 5 is a great way for those who are working during the day to still get a chance to enjoy the beauty of the Garden. I loved being outside in the summer evening, and the event will continue every Thursday until the end of August. What better way to relax after a long day than to sit in the Garden enjoying a glass of wine? The Tea House offers “Date Night Special” dining that coordinates with the week’s theme, making this the perfect summer date. There is a different theme every week that is coordinated between the live music, wine tasting, and food. Last Thursday’s theme was Germany and it was a party!
The Garden’s in-house caterer Meriwether Godsey offers the following available for purchase at the wine-tasting site: wine by the glass and by the bottle, specialty beers, and food. The German beer and wine were a very popular hit! I enjoyed the pretzel tasting as the dipping sauce had a great kick. The Original Elbe-Musikanten German Band played a traditional style of German music that filled the Grace Arents Garden by historic Bloemendaal House.
The Little Performer
After extreme heat and humidity these past few weeks, the weather finally cooled off, making it a perfect evening to be outside. Every second Thursday of the month is Fidos After 5, which is when you can bring your dogs to the garden! I had so much fun watching the dogs lie around on this cool summer night. I love dogs and enjoyed walking around seeing all the different kinds of breeds.
One dog was a therapy dog, which is a trained dog that provides affection and comfort to people. He was very charismatic and loved playing with all the children who came up to pet him. He was definitely a performer, as his favorite trick was to play dead. His owner would say “bang bang” and he would collapse, roll-over, and play dead. He was definitely an actor and loved having an audience.
One thing I learned that evening was a German drinking song called “Ein Prosit”, which literally means one cheers, and is a toast to your health or well-being. All of a sudden the German band started to chant together saying:
Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit
Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit
(Cheer!) Eins, zwei, Drei g’suffa!
Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi,
Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi,
Prosit
The Original Elbe-Musikanten German Band
When I first heard this I had no idea what was going on or what they were saying, and it was not until the third or fourth round of this chant that I finally figured it out. It was very easy to pick up and by the third time around a large group had joined in. Everyone was laughing by the end! The atmosphere was very relaxed as people sat on blankets and chairs, enjoying the beverages and listening to the upbeat music.
Many enjoyed walking through the rest of the Garden, as they could hear the music in the background. I could not believe that it was my first time attending Flowers After 5, and was a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. It was a light-hearted night filled with laughter and some dancing.
This Thursday the theme will be Argentina with The Garcia Jazz Trio performing. The event is from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and we will have wine tasting and salsa tasting! I can’t wait to attend my second Flowers After 5, and encourage you to bring your families, lawn chair and blanket!