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Tomball German Heritage Festival |
When: Saturday & Sunday, March 25th & 26th, 2006, beginning at 10am on Saturday
Click here for pictures of last year's event...
Where: Tomball - centered around Walnut and Market Streets, just south of Main
Street in downtown Tomball. [ Directions to Tomball ].
Cost: Admission & parking is free
DETAILS:
Over 15,000 "Germans for a day" are expected to participate in the sixth
annual Tomball German Heritage Festival, scheduled for March 25 and 26, 2006, 10am - 10pm,
in Tomball, Texas. Co-Sponsored by the Downtown Tomball Merchants Association,
CountryStyle Texas Magazine
and the Tomball Sister City Organization, Inc.,
the celebration will take those in attendance back in time to the culture and
festivities of Germany, which are so richly embedded in Tomball's history.
Admission and parking for the festival is free, and the opening ceremony will take
place Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at 200 Market Street with a German "Oompah" band.
The Armed Forces Color Guard will post the American, German, and Texas flags, while
the national anthems and the state song are played. At the close of the festival
on Sunday, an authentic German church service will take place in German.
The Tomball German Heritage Festival is a wonderful opportunity for the entire
family to reconnect with their heritage or simply learn about a new culture.
Children will enjoy the KinderFest section of the festival, where a petting zoo,
inflatable amusements and other attractions will catch their youthful interests.
Don't miss the open air market with over 50 booths of arts, crafts, a blacksmith,
unique gifts, antiques, and authentic German food and beer. The German car show
will also be a sight to see, featuring BMW, Volkswagon, Audi and Mercedes Benz.
Everyone will have the opportunity to try their hand at Nagelschlagen ("nail hitting"),
an authentic German game, where competitors attempt to drive a nail into a wooden
tree stump. Contestants will compete for the Grand Prize-a trophy containing cash!
Renowned German band Alpenfest will add a special flair to the festive atmosphere.
Self-titled as the "Busiest German Band in Texas," this group is returning as a
popular favorite and loves to involve the audience in the show. The band's
instruments include 13-foot Swiss Alphorns, a glockenspiel, Austrian Cowbells,
musical handsaws, and of course, yodeling vocalists. Other German bands and
music makers, including German-costumed dancers, will perform throughout the
weekend to round out the exciting entertainment.
The Tomball German Heritage Festival will also showcase the heritage that makes this
area a great place to work and live. The Community Center will house information of
local families with German heritage, many of which originally settled northwest
Harris, southern Montgomery and southeastern Waller counties. Posters of major German
families of the area will be displayed, along with their family coat of arms,
information and photographs of local descendants.
Attendees are welcome to stroll through historic Tomball with the Houston Happy Hikers.
This organization is sponsoring a 10km and 5km walk that will take participants from
the Tomball German Heritage Festival through old downtown Tomball, then to Theis
Attaway Nature Center and the Tomball Museum. This walk is sanctioned by the American
Volkssport Association (AVA), which is a member of the International Federation of
Popular Sports (IVV). The walk will take place on Friday, March 19 commence anytime
between 9am and 12pm, but must finish by 3pm. For more information visit
www.houstonhappyhikers.org,
or call (979) 478-6203.
Don't miss this new tradition that has become one of the city's premier festivals,
with attendance in 2004 of over 10,000 "Germans for a day." Experience something
local German descendants know well: the Gemutlichkeit-"a warm place in one's heart"
-that results from the food, fun and fellowship of a German festival.
Activities will be centered around Walnut and Market Streets, just south of Main
Street in downtown Tomball. Businesses are also encouraged to get involved through
the many sponsorship opportunities. For more information on the festival,
visit www.tomballsistercity.org
or call (281) 379-6844.
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