CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — People flocked to Cheektowaga for the annual Buffalo German Festival.
The festival is put on by the Federation of German-American Societies, which brings together over a dozen local groups that are passionate about celebrating German culture.
There were plenty of steins, sauerkraut, and smiles to go around.
"And you don't have to be German! You can be Austrian, you can be Swiss, you can be from Lichtenstein, or you could just really like the culture, and that's what we're doing here," said Herbert "Hanzi" Schmidt, the entertainment coordinator of the festival.
"We're trying to connect people to a family. And that's why you go to the Polish, and the Italian, and the Irish, and German. It's really about connecting with family ... new, and maybe not so new."
This is the largest annual German festival in the area.