Eagles Club to host 'Oktubafest' on Saturday to benefit Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra

Nov. 3—EAST GRAND FORKS — German music, food, dancing and games will be featured at the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra's second annual "Oktubafest" from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Eagles Club in East Grand Forks.

Admission to the event is free. Proceeds from all food purchases will go to support the symphony. All ages are welcome.

Entertainment will be provided by the UND Tuba Ensemble, which consists of nine tubas and euphoniums, directed by Joel Pugh, an orchestra member and associate professor of low brass studies at UND.

This ensemble will play polkas, German marches, as well as other fun music to add to the festivities, Pugh said. This group has performed in the annual Potato Bowl parade and in a recent chamber recital at UND with renowned tuba soloist Velvet Brown.

Numerous ensemble members attended the 2023 International Tuba Euphonium Conference at Arizona State University, he said.

Also, accordionist Chuck Gust, of East Grand Forks, will provide a variety of German music, sing-alongs and much more, Pugh said.

While the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra has hosted numerous fundraising events in the past, the organization's leadership wanted to showcase "a different side of the symphony, that being the 'back row and the tubas,'" he said.

Last year's "Oktubafest" event was "extremely successful," with more than 200 people attending, Pugh said.

The Eagles Club is located at 227 10th St. N.W.