Huge crowds jammed Mtn View Orchards near Parkdale Saturday for the annual Swiss-German Edelweiss Day, hosted by Ruthie McAlexander, right, and her husband, Lyle, and family. Visitors Heidi Eidler, left, of Pendleton, originally from Austria, listens with her daughter, Tamara Morgan of The Dalles, to the music of the Edelweiss Irregulars. Eidler, whose family heritage connects to the former German colony in Namibia, southwest Africa, particularly enjoyed the group’s rendition of a folk song from that region, “Hard As A Camelthorn Tree.” Lyle McAlexander said the festival, in its 31st year, saw its largest turnout ever.

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