Highlights in 2015
New in 2015 : Monthly German Movie night every second Wednesday @ the Clinton Theater
November 2-12 Law talks with information on green card, dual citizenship and more
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ovember 14 Lantern walk – Laternenfest
our very popular Lantern Walk with this year over 120 participants
in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood
September 25 – 29 Portland German Film Festival @ Cinema 21
April 28, 2015 Germany Oregon Energy Efficiency Symposium
Zeitgeist NW was proud partner of the German American Chamber of Commerce San Francisco : Germany Oregon Energy Efficiency Symposium April 28, 2015 at the Ecotrust building in Portland
April 24 Talk with Matthias Schaefer
ZGNW presented in collaboration with American Rivers , Salmon Safe and the American Council on Germany
Water Quality and Salmon in the Rhein and Elbe Rivers in Germany and River Basin
March 25 Passive House Talk with Günter Lang
Zeitgeist NW presented in collaboration with Passive House Northwest and Urban Nest Realty an evening with Günter Lang of Passivhaus Austria and Lang Consulting , Vienna
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Highlights in 2014
November 7-11 Portland German Film Festival @ Cinema 21
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November 2: German – French Cabaret Night with Siri Vik : Moon shines red
_________________________________________________________________ November 2 : Laternenumzug at Laurelhurst Park
Parents and kids enjoyed a traditional German ” Laternenumzug ” through beautiful Laurelhurst Park in SE Portland , followed by hot cider and brezeln .
________________________________________________________________________LAW TALKS
Zeitgeist NW hosted two attorneys of law at the public Hillsdale Library, who presented information about legal topics of interest.
October 16: Timan Hasche talked about how to procure a green card or citizen ship.
October 30: Beate Weisskrull discussed critical issues of inheritance law.
Petra Korn reported on issues of Dual Citizenship on February 19 and 20 ,2015 in Portland and Eugene
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JUNE 28: SALEM WORLD BEAT FESTIVAL
The focus of this year’s multicultural festival in Salem was Germany. Zeitgeist Northwest was invited to present our organization in a special tent decorated with information about history, geography, culture of Germany. We provided activities for the kids, special cooking demonstrations and information about our upcoming events including the Film Festival. Honorary Consul Robert Manicke kindly joined us.
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JUNE 21: Zena Forest Stroll & Stoller Wine Tasting
The first-known European use of sustainability (German: Nachhaltigkeit) occurred in 1712 in the book Sylvicultura Oeconomica by German forester and scientist Hanns Carl von Carlowitz. We learned how with selective harvesting, Zena Forest maintains the health of the forest, provides habitat for native species, and walks the talk of sustainability. Fun and educational hike, and a subsequent wine tasting that was not to be missed!
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MAY 18: THIRD ANNUAL MAIFEST AT OAKS PARK
The weather gods were friendly and we had a fun and music filled Maifest again. Dancing around the Maypole, enjoying traditional German food and beer, and hosting as jest of honor the country France this year. Raffleprizes, arts and crafts vendors, kids’ corner and various astonishingly talented dance groups made for a successful event.
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MAY 3: Ü30 Dance Party
A good time was had by all at the Bossa Nova Balroom. Zeitgeist NW introduced a concept that is all the rage in Germany: A dance party that invited people over 30 years of age to dust off their dance shoes and party in a non-threatening atmosphere to hits of the 70s and 80s.
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Book Talk February 27: From Foe to Friend – Prisoners of War immigrate to the US
An evening with Barbara Schmitter Heisler who discussed her recent book on German prisoners of war who were interned in the US and who later became American citizens. The lecture explained why so many German prisoners of war, after benevolent treatment on US soil, later decided to immigrate to this country; Dr. Heisler presented a number of case studies of Germans whom she was able to interview. Book: From German Prisoner of War to American Citizen: A Social History with 35 Interviews (Jefferson, NC and London, McFarland & Co, 2013)
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2013
LAW TALKS
Zeitgeist NW hosted three attorneys of law at the public Hillsdale Library, who presented information about legal topics of interest.
October 10: Petra Korn reported on issues of Dual Citizenship
October 24: Timan Hasche talked about how to procure a green card or citizen ship.
November 10: Beate Weisskrull discussed critical issues of inheritance law.
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November 10 : Laternenumzug at Laurelhurst Park
Parents and kids enjoyed a traditional German ” Laternenumzug ” through beautiful Laurelhurst Park in SE Portland , followed by hot cider and brezeln .
Watch out for the repeat in November 2014
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OCTOBER 26: HARVEST AND HERITAGE TOUR
ZGNW visited the Old Aurora Colony Museum in Aurora, Oregon. Museum Curator Patrick Harris LED the “Emma Walk” through historic Aurora, sharing stories of the town’s early German and Swiss roots. Journalist,writer and consultant Jim Thayer joined us to share the story of Dr. Wilhelm Keil, founder of one of the most successful utopian communal societies west of the Rocky Mountains.
Then we enjoyed the fall harvest at Christopher Bridge Wines in nearby Oregon City.
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October : German Film Festival at Cinema 21
Zeitgeist NW presented the German Film Festival in Portland October 18- 21 .
Four days – eight movies – opening night : the great historical drama : Ludwig !
Watch out for the 2014 dates in October
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September 28: Talk by Sarah Burrini
German author Sarah Burrini talked about German comic books and her comic series
” Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof” at the Ford building.
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September 24: Talk ” Passive House”
Zeitgeist NW invited Prof. Dr. Feist, Director of Passive Haus Institut in Darmstadt, to talk about ‘ Passive House” at the Earth Advantage Center in downtown Portland. The evening was very interesting and found a big audience. More talks and information on green technology will come in 2014.
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May 18: Maifest at Oaks Park
Second annual Maifest at Oaks Park was a bit rainy but a lot of fun.With over 35 art & craft vendors, a variety of great German food , beer garden and kids entertainment there was a lot to do.The various musical groups with their song, dance, and general entertainment made the day special – a big Thank You to adults and kids alike who performed and showed their talents.
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May : Kindertheater ” Der Loewe lacht”
Christof and Vladislava Altmann’s Liedertheater from Germany toured the German Schools at the west coast for 4 weeks.Students and teachers from Seattle to Los Angeles enjoyed the interactive music theatre show ” Der Loewe lacht”.
Read an article about : Der Loewe lacht auch in Seattle
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May 31: Heisse Würstchen – oder Liebe geht durch den Magen
A full house with many ‘Schwaben’ and ‘Nicht Schwaben’ at the Slide Inn
Mit Programmen wie “I möcht’ so gern a Maultasch sei…” hat sich Christof Altmann in den vergangenen 15 Jahren einen Namen als schwäbischer Bluesman, Entertainer und Kabarettist gemacht. Seit Kurzem machen sich der Stuttgarter Schwabe und seine Frau Vladislava, gebürtige Tschechin aus Prag nun gemeinsam auf zu neuen Ufern zwischen Nesenbach, Neckar, Moldau und Elbe.
Bei “Heisse Würstchen, oder: Liebe geht durch den Magen” kommen sowohl Augen und Ohren wie auch das Zwerchfell des Publikums auf ihre Kosten. Christof Altmann gibt dabei den vielseitigen Musiker und geschwätzigen Schwaben während Vladislava als weltläufige Tschechin mit Mimik und ausdrucksstarker Stimme die Herzen der Zuschauer bricht.
2012
(Selective listing of past events, not included the membership social gatherings.)
2012 was the year of the first annual Maifest held at Oaks Park. A day of dancing around the may pole, sampling goods and beer from a variety of European food vendors, perusing the wares of many craft vendors brought a bit of the traditional German fair to PDX. Kids games, a variety of musical entertainment and dancing rounded the day.
In collaboration with an art gallery in the Pearl district, Zeitgeist NW offered 5 lectures on modern German art throughout the year. Artists,photographers and art historians spoke about current exhibits or other topics of interest. The lectures drew a full house quite regularly
A concert by the award winning German a capella Group Vocal Dente at the Alberta Rose Theater in NE PDX was a huge success with hundreds of visitors. A medley of show tunes and modern music attracted the younger set as well.
September brought the first extended Kinofest, with a variety of movies spanning documentaries, children’s films, comedies and dramas. Well over1000 visitors took advantage of the offerings at the Whitseel Auditorium of the Northwest Filmcenter. Docents introduced each film, and an opening night party in the courtyard of the Portland Art Museum was a huge success.
The fall saw another major project of the year: the exhibit Lawyers without Rights, displayed at the Federal Court House in PDX. The exhibit documents the plight of Jewish lawyers during the Nazi regime; the German Consul General of San Francisco opened the exhibit, together with two federal judges and representatives of the Jewish community. The exhibit was open to the public for several month and also toured by school and other educational groups.In conjunction with the exhibit, federal defense attorney Steven Wax gave a lecture at the Courthouse about the current state of affairs of some constitutional rights in the US.
2011
Zeitgeist NW offered a weekend of German films, newly released, in cooperation with the Northwest Film Center at the Whitsell Auditorium. This was a pilot project for the now firmly established German Film Festival that we offer as an annual event.
The Jewish Theatre Collaborative worked with Zeitgeist NW at a reading of poems of Holocaust survivors. The reading and a short lecture took place at the Multnomah Arts Center in conjunction with an exhibit of photomontages that represented the poems.
In the fall, the San Francisco Munich Trio was sponsored by Zeitgeist NW in their concert of classical music of Jewish composers.
