Get it while it’s hot

• Cookbook

Brian Korthals/Daily Globe “Amazing” Worthington City Band cookbook production staff members Krista Vogt (left) and Elizabeth Kester (right) flank city band president Brett Lehman as they introduce the new cookbooks for sale.

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — Each summer, the “Amazing” Worthington City Band — a community fixture since 1894 — cooks up a sizzling weekly concert series in the historic Chautauqua Park bandshell.

But this year, something even bigger is stewing: a few dozen of the band’s members will travel to Worthington’s sister city, Crailsheim, Germany, in late July, and a hot-off-the-presses, band-produced cookbook is being sold to off-set some of the trip’s expenses, as well as to benefit the band generally.

“When the band last went to Crailsheim in 1994, members participated in Crailsheim’s International Music Festival, and they are excited for us to return,” said Jon Loy, director of the “Amazing” Worthington City Band since 2008.

“It’s an honor for us to be musical ambassadors to Germany, representing Worthington and the United States.”

Katy Efner, a city band trumpeter since her days as a Worthington High School student in the early 1980s, was among the band members who enjoyed the 1994 European tour.

“Anytime anyone from Worthington goes to Crailsheim, the people there are very welcoming,” said Efner. “You get the red-carpet, celebrity treatment — I mean, they pull out all the stops — and it sometimes makes me concerned that we may not be doing enough when people from Crailsheim visit us here.”

In anticipation of the band’s 2011 trip, Efner took the initiative several months ago to collect recipes from band members and others affiliated with the band to produce “Sounds Delicious: Favorite Recipes of the ‘Amazing’ Worthington City Band.”

“I realized that other local organizations have been successful with cookbooks, and I thought we could come up with something spectacular ourselves,” Efner said.

So, while the cookbook contains dozens of tasty recipes in the traditional categories — main dishes, soups and salads, vegetables and side dishes, desserts and the like — it also has a section dubbed “International Flavors,” which features several German-heritage treats, Mexican favorites and some Asian specialties, and additionally has a section titled “Just for Kids.”

“There are several recipes in the ‘kids’ part that make this cookbook stand out,” Efner said. “There are recipes for no-bake items, for Easy Bake ovens, for things like edible peanut butter playdough and finger paint. We even have two Harry Potter-inspired recipes in there.”

Brett Lehman, a trombonist and president of the “Amazing” Worthington City Band for 2010-’11, extolled the cookbook’s other “extras.”

“A short history of the city band and of the Worthington-Crailsheim connection is included at the front of the cookbook, and the section dividers feature both historic photos of the band as well as more recent ones, plus photos of several past band directors,” Lehman said.

Loy added, “Cookbook purchasers will not only get great recipes but also information about the band’s 118 seasons, with these historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the book.”

Two of the band’s student musicians also got into the cookbook act, with freshman trombonist Libby Kester designing the book’s cover graphic — a French horn repurposed as a cornucopia spilling with fruit and vegetables — and sophomore trumpeter Krista Vogt selecting photos and graphics for each of the ten section dividers.

“Proceeds from cookbook purchases will provide support for the band’s trip to Germany, but will also broadly support the band, whose continuing existence is made possible by the generosity and foresight of the City of Worthington and its leaders,” Lehman said.

“The band is a real asset to Worthington and adds so much to the sense of community here,” added Lehman, himself a five-year band member. “In June and July, on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in Chautauqua Park, our audiences range from 100 to 500 people, with many, many more attending on the Fourth of July and also on Memorial Day.

“The concerts are free, it’s a relaxed atmosphere, and some people come for the whole evening while others stop in the midst of walking their dogs or taking bike rides to listen for a while before moving on.” Lehman said.

Lehman acknowledged Efner’s time and effort in coordinating the cookbooks. Efner, who said she can’t imagine a whole summer passing by without city band and who has shared “band time” with various friends and family members since 1980, is glad to have found a way to give something back to the band.

“These cookbooks make great gifts, and anyone with ties to the band or to Crailsheim will really like them,” promoted Efner. “Mother’s Day and graduation season are coming up, or you could get one for an early Christmas gift or as a wedding present.”

“I feel proud to be part of a community that’s had a relationship like Worthington has with Crailsheim. That relationship is sustained by the efforts of many individuals in the community, and if the city band can add to it and help maintain it, that’s a positive.” Lehman said.

“Sounds Delicious: Favorite Recipes of the ‘Amazing’ Worthington City Band” cookbooks are available for purchase at several local businesses, including Ax Photo, Rickers Photo, Images by Tom, Johnson Jewelry, W-2’s Meats, Worthington Federal Savings Bank and Nobles County Co-op, or they can be purchased by contacting Katy Efner at kte@iw.net or (phone) 372-5567.

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