The Magnolia Ball

It all began in 1951. The then-President of the German American Men’s Club Munich, Chester Wright, invited guests to his home and for the occasion he had fresh magnolias flown in from the US State of Georgia. Thus, the name Magnolia Ball was born.
Soon thereafter, the form and organization of this glamorous Black and White Formal Ball, which was held every year thereafter until the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, was assumed by the Women’s Club. Since then, the Magnolia Ball has come to be recognized as one of the oldest and most traditional events of the Munich Carnival season serving one purpose over all others: Fundraising to further the charitable goals of the Club, the German American Student Exchange Program and the charity organizations in and around Munich.

Magnolienball 2024 – Debütanten zur Balleröffnung

Der Deutsch-Amerikanische Frauenclub München sucht für den Magnolienball am 3. Februar 2024 im Bayerischen Hof junge interessierte Leute

Für unseren bekannten Magnolienball suchen wir Debütanten im Alter von 16 -29 Jahren, die für uns als Empfangskomitee den Ball feierlich eröffnen. Diese Gruppe unserer selbstbewussten Jugend hat in den letzten Jahren ihren Beitrag zum festlichen Rahmen unseres Balls gegeben und mit ihrer Formation nach dem Vorbild des Wiener Opernballs das Publikum begeistert. Es geht darum, unserem Charityauftrag gerecht zu werden und 15 karitativen Einrichtungen weiterhin unsere Unterstützung zukommen zu lassen.

Informationen über unseren traditionsreichen Magnolienball finden Sie im Internet unter https://www.gawc-munich.de.

Wenn Sie interessiert sind:

• Wir nehmen Anmeldungen für Paare und Einzelpersonen an
• Unser Tanzlehrer Peter Simon wird mit Ihnen paarweise eine Formation einüben
• Es werden dazu drei noch zu bestimmende Nachmittage im Januar angesetzt
• Die Generalprobe findet am Balltag statt 
• Tanzerfahrungen für die Formation nach der Musik von Johann Strauß sind nicht erforderlich. 
• Die ersten Walzerschritte nach der Ankündigung „Alles Walzer“ werden mit dem Partner auch geübt. Damit ist der Ball eröffnet!
• Sobald ich eine kleine Gruppe zusammengestellt habe, werden wir uns per WhatsApp untereinander verständigen.
• Das weiße Ballkleid der Damen und der dunkle Anzug oder die Uniform der Herren und die schwarzen Schuhe müssen von Ihnen gestellt werden
• Lange weiße Handschuhe, die Krönchen der Damen und die Fliegen der Herren mit passendem Einstecktuch werden von uns beschafft
• Bitte zahlen Sie uns das Ballticket für Studenten von 20,-€/Person mit dem Verwendungszweck „Debütanten“

Wir würden uns freuen, bald von Ihnen eine Anmeldung zu erhalten. Bitte geben Sie mir Namen, Alter, Wohnort und Mobiltelefonnummer an, evtl. auch die Angaben Ihres Partners. Schreiben Sie an ursula.truemper@magenta.de 

Mit meiner Bestätigung sind Sie dann verbindlich in die Gruppe aufgenommen.

Ursula Trümper GAWC

The 70th Magnolia Ball — A Ball Like No Other

Hotel Bayerischer Hof — February 4, 2023

After the two quiet years of the pandemic, Chairlady Ulrike Grimm was finally able to issue invitations to the 70th anniversary of this benefit event to be held February 4, 2023 in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof.

Those guests who had attended for years were finally able to greet one another with big Hellos! and guests who attended for the first time were awed by the Champagne reception held in the elegant ballroom of the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. Also able to attend the Magnolia Ball for the first time, US Consul General Timothy Liston was joined by the Bavarian State Minister for Justice Dr. Georg Eisenreich and Munich City Council Member Gabriele Neff in offering impressive words of welcome. Club President Traudl Schmid was delighted to present a donation check for 10,000 Euros to the Münchner Waisenhaus (Munich orphanage) which was enthusiastically accepted on its behalf by Katrin Breu and Christopher Pforr.

Then followed the impressive entrance of the 40 debutants, accompanied by the Fledermaus Quadrille and the waltz “Wiener Blut” by Johann Strauss, opening the anniversary Ball evening, the moment for which organizer Ulrike Grimm had had to wait two years. Many of the young women and men appeared to have a touch of stage fright. It is no wonder— they needed to ‘float’ down the elegant stairway, not tripping on the long ball gowns, and then remember the steps to the dances…all of which required a great deal of concentration. But everything went as planned. Uschi Trümper, Chairlady for the Debutants, and Choreographer Peter Simon, Tanzstudio Ritmo (Dance Studio Ritmo) could be very proud of ‘their’ young people. Again this year, the Salon Stefan Pauli (how could those tiaras stay so securely in the young ladies’ hair?) and the Salon Horst Kirchberger (which assured perfect make-up) contributed to the outstanding presentation of the young couples.

The new band SM!LE offered a colorful repertoire of ballroom and contemporary party music enticing the guests to the dance floor again and again. The lively appearance of the Münchner Narhalla provided for an enjoyable ‘recovery break’ during which, in addition to Traudl Schmid and Uli Grimm, additional Ladies were recognized with the Narhalla medal: Irmi Behrendt, Chairlady for Ticket Sales (over 400 ball tickets were sold), Ines Söhngren, Chairlady for the Tombola (the raffle tickets for a chance to win one of the 300 prizes were sold in lightning speed), and Susi Ahrens, Chairlady for the Silent Auction (16 wonderful prizes were successfully auctioned).

The Weißwurst Midnight Snack came at just the right time to provide energy for the last dance, the Münchner Française. This year there was no hesitation among the Ball guests. In no time, the chairs were empty: Both young and old had smiling faces, united in promenading, turning and hopping, simply pure enjoyment…

THANK YOU to all the guests, THANK YOU to all our cherished repeat and new sponsors and THANK YOU to all the helping hands who made this wonderful 70th Magnolia Ball possible.

Organization: Ulrike GrimmGAWC Chairlady, Magnolia Ball
ulrike.grimm@gawc-munich.de