Local Tradition Thrives – 65th Annual Richland May Fete

65^th Annual Richland Community Club May Fete

Sunday, May 13th 5:00 PM

1988 May Fete – May Pole with Shana & Darrell

The Richland Community Club announces the Royalty for the Sixty-Fifth Annual Richland May Fete to be held May 13^th at the historical Richland Hall, 18312 Cameron Road.

The Richland community is just a stone’s throw from the Good Luck Grill.  We are happy to tell you about it and encourage you to participate as it is one of the richest traditions in our community.   The public is invited to partake in the festivities and celebrate the reign of King Brandon Masi, a senior at Hendrickson High School. King Brandon is the son of Barbara and Chris Masi of Pflugerville.

Brandon is proud to serve as king since his grandparents, Kermit and Lydia Hees, were the King and Queen in 1952, and Brandon’s mother was the queen in 1985. King Brandon has chosen as his Queen, Lorrie Abels, a junior at Hendrickson High School.  Queen Lorrie is the daughter of Gail and Scott Abels also of Pflugerville.

Tiny Tot Royalty will be King Elliott Weiss a first grader at Riojas Elementary in Pflugerville. King Elliott is the son of Neal and Barb Weiss of Pflugerville.  Neal served as the 1988 May Fete King.  King Elliott has chosen Olivia Valdez, daughter of Mike and Vanessa Valdez, to be his Queen.

The May Fete was originally started to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season.  In the Richland Community our May Fete has been on Mother’s Day weekend for as long as I can remember. As high school students, my sister and I participated every year! It was such fun!  That’s me and my good friend Darrell (pictured above) in 1988 after wrapping the May Pole.

Richland Hall was issued a charter in 1894 by the Fraternal Sons of Herman (a Germania Group) serving as the center of community life in the Richland/Cele Area.  This community consisted of a cotton gin, a general store, church, and two-room schoolhouse.  As the years passed and the community expanded to include the township of Pflugerville, Richland Hall continued to serve as a historical landmark and meeting place for the surrounding community to come together for many events of fellowship.  Since 1947, the Richland Community Club oversees its functions and maintenance.

The biggest event of any German community is the annual May Fete which was a day of celebration to begin with harvest season.  Growth and progress has changed the Richland Community with the landscape changing from fields of beautiful grain sorghum, cotton, and cows to houses and even Lake Pflugerville.  Even in the midst of all the growth, the Richland Community Club is committed to sharing with the younger generations what made the Richland area so special that German immigrants chose to settle in this area and call it their “Rich Land”.  One of the ways to share the history with the ever-expanding community is to continue with the traditional Richland May Fete.

We are one of the only communities left in Texas to continue the May Fete tradition. The members of the Richland Community Club select a young person from the community who is either a junior or senior in high school to serve as the May Fete King or Queen.  The tradition is that a King is chosen only on Leap Year.   The same is true for the Tiny Tot court which includes children from the community up through the second grade. King Brandon will choose a Queen and a court of his peers to participate in the May Fete. Each member of the court invites a date  to escort them and join them for the festivities.  Mothers will be honored from near and far and old and young alike!

The Festivities begin at 5 p.m. with the crowning of the kings (because it is leap year) followed by the March, and May Pole.  The March is a festive parade of children and teenagers dressed in their best spring outfits walking in intricate lines delighting the audience with the artistry of their formations. All former kings and queens will be recognized in a special celebration of the 65^th anniversary.  Food will be available for purchase and a Silent Auction and Free Dance will also be part of the activities.

Want your children to participate?

• – We would like to invite all children from the age of 2 years old through the second grade to participate.
• – Each child needs to have a partner to walk with in the parade.
• – Wear church attire of any color except white.
• – The Queen and the Ex-Queen wear white dresses.
• – The boys give the girls corsage and the girls give the boys boutineers.
• – Children can change into casual clothes after the parade and pictures.
• – Bring your lawn chairs and your cameras – the kids look so cute all dressed up.
• – Couples need to be at the hall by 4:15PM on Sunday May 13, 2012 so that everyone has time to take pictures and get in line.

Invite your family and friends for a fun afternoon of fellowship with food and drinks available to purchase, a silent auction and a FREE dance.   BYOB if you prefer alcoholic beverages.

*PRACTICE will be Friday, May 4th at 7:00PM at Richland Hall-If you cannot make the practice let Cyndi Motloch @512-466-2366 or email her at cyndi_6653@yahoo.com now with the name of the couple to be put in the lineup.

 DIRECTIONS:   

From Pflugerville take 685 and right onto Pflugerville Parkway – Turn left onto Weiss Lane –  Turn right onto Jesse Bohls Road – turn left on Cameron Road.  Richland Hall will be on your left less than a mile down the road.

From Manor/Austin take 290 east from Austin turn left onto FM 973 – go approximately 5 mi. and turn left onto Steger Lane –  turn  right onto Cameron  Road.  Richland Hall will be on your left.