Schwingfest

The second weekend of every August is Schwingfest, at the Swiss Park in Bonney Lake. My wonderful friend Lucy and her family are Swiss and we have been invited to enjoy the fest every year for the last 6 or so. It is a blast!

Let me explain:

Schwingen is wrestling. A really unique method of wrestling with 2 men pitted against one another, no weight class, just strength. They wear a special pair of shorts with a leather belt. They each need to have a hand grabbing the belt at all times. Then they try to throw or grapple the opponent to the ground. Saturday is the adults or older boys and Sunday is the Buebe Schwingen or youth wrestling.

They wrestle on a bed of sawdust and there is a point system for takedowns. It can be amazing to watch. Some of the throw downs are pretty hard. Sometimes even the smaller man wins. Contestants came from all over Washington, Oregon and even California. Sometimes there are even contestants from Switzerland. The Grand Prize in Switzerland is a cow.

Max was a little worried at first. He seemed very empathetic for the guys. Then he just watched them with interest. This was his first Schwingfest. Last year his grandparents came into town for his birthday so we missed it and the year before we were pregnant and throughly enjoyed it during the heat wave.
The whole time the men/boys are wrestling there is swiss music, played from the Music house in the background with accordians and pianos being played. It is kind of in the style of the polka.

One of Lucy's freinds, Analise, plays the Alpen horn. Max really enjoyed hearing her and clapped after every song.

During the Schwingen there is a lot of eating and drinking. They serve authentic Swiss bratwurst with onions and sauerkraut. YUM!! After the schwingen on Saturday night there is a dinner and dance. This is the Sportsmen's Club. Lucy's family has been involved in the club since before she was born and there are lots of pictures of her family inside, including lots of animals that her uncle hunted, mounted and donated to the club.

I love the motto over the door of the club. In case you can't make it out, it says "all for one and one for all" in Swiss.

After watching the schwingers we all have worked up an appetite and head back to Aunty Lucy and Poppa Richard's for some dinner. She always hosts dinner at her house before heading back to the Swiss Park for the dance. Lots of friends and family come over to eat and conversate.

This year Max got a birthday treat! Analise played Happy Birthday for Max on her horn. He loved it! Aunty Lucy, Poppa Richard their son Anthony and his girlfriend Nikki got Max a basketball hoop that is just his size. Thanks so much! He will be an NBA star yet!

We love going to Schwingfest and now that Max is old enough to enjoy it we won't be missing another one. Thanks so much for letting the non-Swiss be included in the fun!