Elk Toss Weather Forecast

A few years ago, our friends at AccuWeather started providing 45 day forecasts, which are definitely going to be 100% accurate. So, here's the forecast for February 6, 2016, for Danville. It is good to know that we'll only get 1.1 inches of snow and 0.08 inches of ice that day. Maybe it is time to provide a driveway conditions update?

2016 Elk Toss Fundraising

The DGS Officers have determined that the money raised at the 2016 Elk Toss will benefit the following organizations:

The Gate House, Danville
Easter Seals of Central Pennsylvania, State College
Catholic Worker House of Lancaster

Please come to the Elk Toss on February 6 to support these great organizations and have a good time.

Another Historical Parade Video

Does anyone else think think the DGS should get back to participating in parades?

Another Historical Video

Classic video of the Sled Dog Race from 2002 taken across the street from Stinger's Tavern. The video says 2001, but we believe that is incorrect.

Historical Parade Video

Digging through our digital archives, we found this video from the 1999 Danville Halloween Parade featuring the Danville German Society. Footage from Danville's own CCN TV (now SECV8).

2016 Elk Toss Date

The 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival is officially scheduled for Saturday February 6, 2016. Mark your calendars and start your elk toss training.

We have also arranged for musical entertainment courtesy to follow the Elk Toss at the Old Forge Brewing Company. Just like last year, Van Wagner and the Brothers McMonagle will perform.

Driveway Update #49

Blimp

We are happy to report that the 75th Annual Elk Toss is NOT cancelled due to the federal blimp. The blimp has been secured and the tethers have been retrieved. You can enjoy the entire fiasco here:

Day 1

 

Days 2 and 3

 

Elk Toss Date

Tentatively, we have set the date for the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival for Saturday, February 13, 2016. We'll provide more details later.

UPDATE: We're having some issues with coordinating some of the events and may need to change the date. Check back here later for more information.

UPDATED UPDATE: It now looks like we have tentatively rescheduled the Elk Toss for February 20, 2016. More details to follow. 

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATE: There were more issues with coordinating events, and now it looks like the Elk Toss will be held on Saturday, February 6. This is still tentative, and we'll post more information once the date is confirmed.

Rick Victor PSA

Rick Victor Dancing!

Rick Victor is Back!!

To celebrate native Pennsylvanian Andy Warhol's birthday, we have decided to post a few Rick Victor videos today... because it just feels right.

Scanned Articles and Letters

We were going through some old files, and we ended up scanning a bunch of newspaper articles and some letters from organizations that received Elk Toss donations. Enjoy...

2011 Danville News Article
2011 Letter from Compeer Lancaster
2011 Letter from the Ronald McDonald House
2011 Letter from SOS Children's Villages
2012 Sunday Item Article
2012 Letter from Church World Services
2012 Letter from Easter Seals
2013 Daily Item Article
2013 Letter from Easter Seals
2014 Daily Item Article

The 2016 Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival (75th Year!) is only about 8 months from now. Franz Klingermann will return this year with a vengeance.

Franz Update

Breaking News: Franz Klingerman is a Soviet spy. Or North Korean. Or Cuban.

He is also many other things.

Driveway Update - March 31, 2015

Urgent news from the Wagner Farm, as wet snow falls on this last day of March...

"so far just wet conditions but if snow starts to stick I will provide an update."

Stay tuned for more news if conditions change.

Schreiber Pediatric Center Blog

The Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center thanked the Danville German Society on their blog. You can see it here.

Note that they also thank Donegal High School who also recently held a dance marathon to raise money for Schreiber. That event was organized by the sister-in-law of the co-president of the Danville German Society. Family.

Elk Toss vs. THON

Many years, including 2015, the Elk Toss and the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) are held on the same weekend. Our Statistical Interpretation Department has complied the following analysis to determine which event is better.

	THON*	Elk Toss	Winner
Money Raised in 2015	$13,026,653.23	$2,150	THON
History	Started in 1973	75th Annual	ELK TOSS
Franz Klingermann?	NO	YES	ELK TOSS
Total Raised in Event History	$127,887,558.34	$24,839	THON
Number of Barns	0	1	ELK TOSS
Chickens?	NO	YES	ELK TOSS
Duration	46 hours	~6 hours	THON
Number of Dancers	700+	1**	THON
Beer?	NO	YES	ELK TOSS
Snow?	NO	YES	ELK TOSS

Final Score: Elk Toss 6, THON 4. Winner - ELK TOSS!

Notes:
*THON is an amazing event that has literally raised millions of dollars to fight pediatric cancer. We encourage supporting the organization.
**For purposes of this analysis, we are considering Joey McMonagle to be "dancing" while playing the guitar.

Driveway Conditions Update - March 4

Due to severe icing, the 2016 Elk Toss is postponed until next year. Please submit any questions via email to Joey McMonagle.

2015 Fundraising Results

For the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival, the Danville German Society will be donating a total of $2150 split between the following organizations:

$1000 to The Gate House, Danville
$500 to Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center, Lancaster
$400 to The Jared Box Project, Port Matilda
$250 to The Food Bank of the State College Area

The Old Forge Brewing Company also will be donating $116 to the Gate House based on a portion of their sales during the musical performances by Van Wagner and the Brothers McMonagle. They gave $1 per pint of beer sold.

We also donated about two shopping carts worth of food to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank. The Danville Area Diaper Bank also sold peanut butter eggs at the Elk Toss, but the total amount raised is not yet available.

Elk Toss Results

The Sunbury Daily Item published an article about the 2015 Elk Toss.

Here are the results of the Elk Toss and other events. Fundraising results will be posted soon. Let us know if any of the names are misspelled or there are any other errors below.

Men's Elk Toss
1st - Colby Longenecker, Northumberland - 59'5"
2nd - Shawn Dodge, Northumberland - 50'4"
3rd - Adam Zakarian, Danville - 49'0"
4th - Matt Dodge, Turbotville - 47'7"
5th - Joe McMonagle, Lancaster - 47'7"

Women's Elk Toss
1st - Pamela Shellenberger - 29'1"
2nd - Tamara Wagner - 27'9"

Scooter/Skateboard Competition 
1st Scooter- Calvin Wagner, Danville
1st Skateboard - Luke Friscia, Danville
Most Stylish - Ethan Weader, Danville

Children's Elk Toss 
Most Spinniest - Ben Crane, Danville
Youngest (2 months old) - Rowan Sick, Danville
Most Angular - Owen Crane, Danville
Deadliest - Luke Wagner, Danville
Straightest - Samuel Garvin, Danville
Female - Emily Garvin, Danville
Longest (64 ft) - Ethan Weader, Riverside
Highest - Luke Friscia, Danville
Floatiest - Calvin Wagner, Danville

Elk Bugling Competition 
1st - Nora Jens, Lancaster

Salad Toss
1st - Joe and Erin McMonagle, Lancaster

Beard Competition 
1st- Matt Dodge, Turbotville
2nd - John Zerbe, West Chester
3rd - Karl Shellenberger, State College

Scrap Iron Toss 
1st - Jake Stamey, Winfield
2nd - Karl Shellenberger, State College

Block Shoot 
1st - Kate Clarke, State College

Weather Update - Friday Mid Afternoon Edition

There is still a wide range of forecasts for precipitation for tomorrow.

AccuWeather is calling for 1" to 3" of snow during the day in Danville, and then another 1" to 2" in the evening. On the other end of the snowfall totals is the National Weather Service. Here is their updated snowfall forecast...

Elk Toss Transportation Reminders

There will not be any 2 hour delays or closings for the Elk Toss. It will go on as scheduled. Check back on this blog later this evening for more updates about the weather, driveway, and elk conditions.

Here is a recycled quote about the driveway from a few years ago:

"My front wheel drive Saturn has been fine...but people CAN NOT STOP HALFWAY UP TO SMELL THE ROSES AND THEN TRY TO GO AGAIN. My driveway is like a marriage, you have to commit. Like a marriage, there is ice, there are ditches, it is wet is places, you'll have arguments about drinking, you have push on because at the end is a glorious mountain top with space and sunshine."

We are not sure if that quote will be an accurate description of the driveway tomorrow, but we do urge everyone to be careful on the driveway.

Steady pace, no jerking, organize a carpool. If you do not have a 4WD/AWD vehicle, it is recommended that you park at the bottom of the hill.

Weather Forecast - Friday Early Afternoon Edition

Looks like the snowfall forecasts are now showing more snow than previously forecasted. Here's the snowfall forecast from the National Weather Service (as of 12:31 pm).

Weather Forecast - Friday Morning Edition

The meteorologists do not seem to be sure of the forecast yet, so we'll review what they are thinking as of 9am this morning, and we'll review these forecasts later.

AccuWeather - Morning Low -2°F, Afternoon High 27°F, Saturday Night Low 26°F, 2-4" snow

National Weather Service - Morning Low 0°F, Afternoon High 26°F, Saturday Night Low 24°F, 1-2" snow

Weather Channel - Morning Low 3°F, Afternoon High 28°F, Saturday Night Low 26°F, 3-5" snow

Weather Underground - Morning Low 2°F, Afternoon High 28°F, Saturday Night Low 26°F, 5-8" snow

Driveway Update - February 20

This video speaks for itself, and it clears up any confusion about the driveway conditions.

2014 Photos and Video

From the 2014 Elk Toss, here are a few photos and also a video from the Sunbury Daily Item. After this year's events, please email us your best photos and videos, and maybe we will post them to our blog or website.

Happy (Lunar) New Year

Only two days left until the Elk Toss, and today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Today begins the Year of the Goat, or Sheep, or Ram, but not the Year of the Elk.

Between now and Saturday, we will be providing weather updates, driveway updates, reminder updates, and updates of updates. Prepare to be updated.

Fastnacht Day Driveway Update

There was some snow at the Wagner Farm last night, and they are currently working to clear the driveway. It looks like it should be ready for Saturday if we do not get any more snow. In other news for today... Happy Fastnacht Day.

Elk Toss Reminders

There are only five days left until the Elk Toss, and here is our annual list of  things to remember as you are planning for Saturday.

1. Bring items to donate to the auction.

2. Bring non-perishable food to donate to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.

3. Bring Pot-Luck Food to share at the Wagner Farm.

4. Bring cash or checks for the auction and event entry fees.

5. Bring a Drinking Vessel and your own beverages. The DGS was not able to get as many donations from local breweries like previous years, so we are requesting that this year be partially BYOB.

6. Wear Lederhosen or a Dirndl, or wear warm clothes and boots since we will be outside much of the day.

7. Please do not bring your dog to the Elk Toss.

8. Organize a carpool and drive an AWD/4WD vehicle. The Wagner Farm driveway and parking area will probably be snowy and/or icy.

9. Reserve a room if you want to spend the night in Danville.

10. Prepare to have fun while supporting some great organizations.

11. If you have a trophy from last year, please bring them back with you so that we can present it to this year's winner in that event.

12. Check this blog often in the next few days for updates on driveway conditions, weather, etc.

Skate/Scooter Ramp Construction Video

Show your kids this video to help them get in the mood for the Skateboard and Scooter Competition.







The rules for the competition are as follows:



Open to kids only. Contestants will be given 3 rounds of 60 seconds each to do as many tricks as they can. We will be picking judges who know absolutely nothing about skateboarding or scootering. The judges will then give awards. Contestants must provide their own scooter / skateboard, the must wear helmet, knee, and elbow pads.

Elk Toss Schedule

Here is an updated schedule for the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction and Winter Festival - February 21, 2015.

10:30 am: Breakfast at Good Wil’s Restaurant, Milton/Montandon (optional)

11:00 am: Arrive at Wagner Farm

11:30 am: Opening Ceremonies at Wagner Farm

Noon: Events and Auction at Wagner Farm

• Elk Bugling, Scrap Iron Toss, Salad Toss, Block Shoot, Beard Contest, Puppet Show, Skateboard/Scooter Competition, etc.
• Charity Auction between events
  Annual meeting and officers reports
• Pot luck style food
• Live Music? 

4:00 pm: ELK TOSS followed by more auction

6:00 pm: Leave Wagner Farm and head to downtown Danville

7:00 pm: Tour of Danville begins at Pine Barn Inn bar. Potential tour stops include BJ’s, Old Forge Brewing Company, LT Evans, Pub II, etc

8:00 pm: Entertainment at Old Forge– Van Wagner, the Brothers McMonagle, and Fred Iobst


Note that the Puppet Show had to be canceled this year because of the Wagner Farm's ongoing battle with chronic wasting disease in the puppets.

The Driveway Strikes Back (Part 1)

Entertainment Update (Updated)

In addition to music by the Brothers McMonagle and Van Wagner at Old Forge Brewing Company after the Elk Toss, we are also pleased to announce that Fred Iobst will be once again performing table magic during the performance. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Entertainment Update

As reported last week, the DGS has arranged for musical entertainment at the Old Forge Brewing Company. Music by Van Wagner and the Brothers McMonagle* will occur. The McMonagles have provided the following press photo to share with the DGS...

*Band name subject to change. Appearance by Left Shark not yet confirmed.

Weather Forecast Update

Here is the updated Elk Toss weather forecast from AccuWeather. It is only 18 days until the Elk Toss and you know how accurate a forecast can be once you are within 20 days. So be prepared for 0.23 inches of rain/freezing rain and winds from the south-southwest at 10 mph.

Groundhog Day Driveway Update (updated)

Here's the driveway conditions update that we promised earlier today...

Groundhog Day Driveway Update

Happy Groundhog Day. Unsurprisingly, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. So it looks like we'll have another cold Elk Toss (if we are to believe the rodent).

We will provide a driveway update as soon as possible. The latest news from the Wagner Farm:

"the fog is so thick I'm not even sure I still have a driveway. "

Until we have a proper driveway update, please enjoy this short clip from the movie Groundhog Day:

Danville News Preview Article

The Danville News published an article on January 28 which previews the 2015 Elk Toss. Click on the photos for larger, more legible versions.

Elk Toss Fundraising

The DGS Officers have determined that the money raised at the 2015 Elk Toss will benefit the following organizations:

The Gate House, Danville
Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center, Lancaster
Jared Box Project, Port Matilda
The Food Bank of the State College Area

Please come to the Elk Toss on February 21 to support these great organizations and have a good time.

Entertainment News

After the Elk Toss, the DGS has arranged for a night of musical entertainment at the Old Forge Brewing Company (298 Mill Street). Van Wagner will perform from 8pm to 9pm followed by the Brothers McMonagle.

Daily Item Elk Toss Preview Article

The Daily Item featured an article previewing the Elk Toss. Please note that everything in the article is accurate.

photo from Daily Item/Amanda August

Skateboarding/Scooter Competition - NEW

Announcing the 1st ever Danville German Society Skateboarding and Scootering contest.  Open to kids only. Contestants will be given 3 rounds of 60 seconds each to do as many tricks as they can.  We will be picking judges who know absolutely nothing about skateboarding or scootering. The judges will then give awards.

Contestants must provide their own scooter/skateboard and must wear helmet, knee, and elbow pads. 

Elk Toss Reminders

It is a little over a month before the Elk Toss (February 21). Here are a few reminders for people planning to attend:

1. Gather items to donate to the auction.
2. Begin collecting donations of food for the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.
3. If you plan to spend the night in Danville, reserve a room at a local hotel. We recommend the Pine Barn Inn since it is within walking distance of downtown Danville, but there are other hotels available in the area.

Driveway Update - January 13

We received the following video from the Wagner Farm. It is a few days old, but it still provides the driveway conditions update everyone is requesting.

Elk Toss Weather Forecast

The geniuses at Accuweather provide 45 day weather forecasts, and the Elk Toss is only 45 days away. So, here's the super-accurate forecast for February 21 in Danville...