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50 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.17 GERMAN-AMERICAN CLUB BEST ALL-AGES PARTY CC I wake on Saturdays with holiday-level excitement lately, like it's my birth- day or Mardi Gras. I check the calendar, and if it's one of the two Saturdays of the month when the German-American Club is hosting an evening Biergarten, an intense joy bursts into my home — everyone from my husband and me down to the toddler can't wait for "the party," as we've come to call it. (The German-American Club holds indoor Biergartens in winter months, albeit less frequently.) A bit of history: The German-American Club was founded in 1878 and was originally located downtown before moving to a spot off Poplar Level Road in 1964. Their Biergartens are open to the public, but members get access to lectures, meetings and other events. It's purpose? Celebrate German culture, of course! The Biergartens typically deliver a bouncy band in lederhosen playing German classics in a covered picnic area with a dance floor. (My four-year-old daughter really appreciates the "Chicken Dance" and "Hokey Pokey.") The children devour bratwurst and cautiously taste sauerkraut. Mom and Dad splurge on a beer or two. (We're about ready to invest in some steins sold near the dance floor.) A playground burns energy if kids aren't feeling the music. This party, this place, hits the trifecta of casual, quirky and festive. Whole bodies smile as they sway to polka-ish tunes and meet up with friends. Unfortunately, we usually can't stay long. Our party tends to wrap when the clock strikes 7:30 or 8. But I often spend the rest of my Saturday night looking forward to our return in a few weeks. (1840 Lincoln Ave.) — AM KENT TAYLOR BEST TV SPORTS- CASTER RC For someone who has been a sports broadcaster for two decades, roaring crowds are the white noise of work life. Still, it's one crowd's exclamation that Kent Taylor, a longtime WAVE-3 sports anchor, can still hear when he thinks about one of his favorite moments on the job. "American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown was really cool. I'd personally been there three times when it didn't happen, when the horse didn't win the Triple Crown," the 45-year-old recalls. "Then that feeling when he did win, that roar from the crowd — I don't think I've ever heard anything like it. It had been pent up for 37 years." (Anoth- er memorable detail from that day? Tay- lor was at the finish line standing next to the band Goo Goo Dolls. And for the record, he only knows who they were because they sang before the race.) Not every day is big and splashy. Sometimes Taylor shares feats far less famous, but equally impressive. "Last year we did a story on a Waggener (High School) football player," Taylor says. "He had had a stroke at birth and then cancer and then a brain tumor. And he was still playing football. That sort of thing. I like telling stories." — Anne Marshall