On Saturday, June 17, you can sample local brats, purchase a variety of delicious food, enjoy an ice cold beer or pop, and vote for your favorite “wurst” at the German American Heritage Center & Museum.
On Father’s Day weekend, what is better than a beer and a brat? In the back lot of GAHC (2nd and Gaines streets, Davenport) Jerry’s Market will serve up a number of sausages for you to vote in the sixth-annual Best of the Wurst. With live entertainment provided by the Guttenberg Band, this event is sure to be a great time.
Other features of this event (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) include fresh kettle corn made on site, balloon twisting from noon to 2 p.m., ice cream from Here’s the Scoop, homemade soft pretzels, as well as open admission to the museum exhibitions.
There will be delicious German and American beer available and activities for both kids and adults. Admission is $5 per person, children under 12 are free. You can buy tickets in advance here or pay at the door.
Thanks to QC Museum Week, you can check out the four-story GAHC for free through Sunday, June 18.
Their newest exhibit, “Los Desconocidos: The Migrant Quilt Project,” is on the third floor. For immigrants looking for a fresh start in a new land, Davenport boasted a high percentage of immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to the exhibit summary.
This trend continues in the 21st century as many immigrants and refugees seek safety and better opportunities for their families in the United States.
Founded in Tucson, Ariz., in the mid-2000s, The Migrant Quilt Project memorializes the stories of migrants who have died seeking refuge in the United States. It is a collaborative effort among artists, quilt makers, and activists to document the names and number of lives lost each year in the desert. The quilts are created to encourage compassion and inspire support for humane changes in border policies.
In 2000, the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office began documenting the names of deceased migrants. Several years later, Jody Ipsen decided to take action after her hikes on remote migrant trails, collecting textiles to turn into quilts. Now in its 20th year, it is a grim reminder of how policies affect human lives. Each quilt is unique, and the story for each quilt is shared along with a quiltmaker’s statement on the website.
The exhibit is on loan from the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson. The quilts (here through Aug. 27, 2023) will travel to five locations around Iowa in 2023 and the early months of 2024.
For more information on GAHC, click HERE.
