The Boylston Schul-Verein is urgently looking for help with their annual Sommerfest (June 12 + 13). Here's a letter from the Co-Chair Daniel Koch explaining how you can help:

We'll shortly have a more comprehensive list of 2010 German language summer programs and camps (take a look at last year's list), but here's a new program that came across our desk and that sounds just wonderful: a music festival combined with German language classes at the "Birklehof" in Hinterzarten, a beautiful resort village in Germany's Black Forest. This program, scheduled for July 21 through August 2, 2010, should appeal to anyone with a love for music and any level of German which will be taught by native speakers. To learn more about this new program or the Interharmony Festival, click here. Hurry up - I believe sign up is requested by April 1, 2010. 

We are posting a list of summer language programs that are local. If you know of one and would like us to include it in our list, please e-mail us: 

The soccer World Cup is approaching, and there's nothing better than watching with people who understand the game, the excitement & the pain - and may also be cheering for your country! There are several opportunities to watch the World Cup with a German edge: The Goethe-Institut will be broadcasting live all games of the German Team — as long as they are still in the tournament! The First Round Games take place Sunday, June 13; Friday, June 18; and Wednesday, June 23.

We received this note about An International Fair with some German flair: 
 
1st Annual International Fair at Bay Farm Montessori Academy
Performances, Arts, Crafts, Games & Food from around the World
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
A FREE Family Event
 
Bay Farm Montessori Academy invites families to embark on a tour of international flavor and artis tic beauty. 40 artisans from around the world will offer demonstrations, multicultural crafts, hands-on activities and games for all ages, plus performances of music, dance and storytelling.  Dunja Pechstein will be offering sample Musikgarten classes in German at the Fair.
 
COME STIMULATE YOUR SENSES!
Taste a variety of international cuisine.
See colorful costumes, traditions and dancing from different countries.
Hear the languages of the world.
Feel the rhythms of other cultures.
Touch games, arts and crafts of multicultural inspiration. At the International Fair, children of all ages can “travel the world” collecting stamps for a passport by visiting booths and learning about different countries.  Please join us as we bring the world to Duxbury for a day.  For more information, visit www.bfarm.org.
 
Bay Farm Campus at 145 Loring Street, Duxbury, MA.  Click for directions.

Rising college tuition costs in the United States and your general interest in German language and culture may have prompted some of you to consider sending your child to study in Germany. A representative from Baden-Wuerttemberg International will be visiting the school on May 1 to talk to interested students and parents about opportunities to study in Baden-Wuerttemberg - and how to go about that. Dr. Susanne Ziemek will be presenting to/talking with interested parents at 9.45AM in the 5th floor auditorium and at 11.45AM meet with interested students (recommended for grades 9 and higher). Baden-Wuerttemberg International's mission is to promote, attract and initiate international business, science and research development within Baden-Wuerttemberg, located in the southwest of Germany.

The following readings by two accomplished current German authors, Alina Bronsky and Felicitas Hoppe came highly recommended to us:  
 

Two former Saturday school teachers will present and perform at the "Ars Animi 2010" evening on April 29th at the German International School. Heidi Schlager, who was teaching 8th grade last year, will show her oil and acryl paintings in the gallery; Dunja Pechstein, a trained soprano and formerly our music teacher, will perform as part of the musical performance that evening. For the full program, click here. 

Germany's Foreign Minister, Guide Westerwelle, is making it his personal mission to promote the learning of the German language. Although it doesn't look like he will increase the budget on German language education and cultural projects, he may inject some welcome enthusiasm into the existing promotion of learning German. You can read about his efforts (and reasoning behind his campaign) in this recent Associated Press story from February 25, 2010.
 

For the music & arts lovers: Ralf Gawlick, professor of music at Boston College, is presenting in two concerts in April the world premiere of his composition of the Children's Crusade (Kinderkreuzzug) Cantata based on Bertholt Brecht's ballad by the same name. The cantata will be performed by the Knabenchor der Chorakademie Dortmund, Treble Chorus of New England and Youth pro Musica. More info about dates, locations and the music for this event on the Goethe-Institut web site.