Sängerfests of the regional singing associations were hosted in alternating cities every two or three years and grew rapidly in popularity. The first Sängerfest in the United States, organized by the Nordamerikanischer Sängerbund, took place in Cincinnati in 1849, and featured 118 singers from 5 singing societies. In 1899, 2,757 singers from 120 singing societies gathered, and at the association’s largest event in Chicago in 1938, 5,882 singers from 181 societies participated. Between participants and audience, a Sängerfest could take over a city.