Wurstfest, New Braunfels,TX
Wurstfest grounds, 178 Landa Park Drive
Proclaimed by the Mayor for the first time in 1961, the festival honoring this most delectable of local foods was a one-day affair held on Saturday, climaxing a week of activity featuring sausage dishes on menus of local cafes and specials on sausage products in local meat markets and grocery stores.
The first year it was “Sausage Festival”, later “Wurst Week”, and finally “WURSTFEST”.
What began in 1961 as a modest festival created by city meat inspector Ed Grist to celebrate sausage with about 2,000 attendees is now a sprawling, 10-day annual party attracting more than 240,000 revelers to the Central Texas German town in 2023. “We host guests from around Texas, the U.S., and internationally,” says Jade Nicola, the festival’s executive director. “You never know who you might run into at Wurstfest.”
You can count on running into a collection of vendors, local German heritage organizations, musicians, and partygoers who honor New Braunfels’ community spirit. “In German, it’s called gemütlichkeit, which means a feeling of warmth, friendliness, and good cheer,” says Keith Wersterfer, festival chairman and Wurstfest Association Opa. (In German, “opa” means grandfather; in New Braunfels, the green-vested Kleine Opas volunteer to help keep Wurstfest running smoothly.)
Wurstfest is proud to be the great festival it is today. From humble beginnings, we’ve grown into an annual bash which draws thousands of visitors a day to the dedicated Wurstfest Festival Grounds. A story like ours is long, and the achievements are due in no small part to the visionaries, volunteers and community leaders who have helped us prosper over the years. 1961
Ed Grist, the city meat inspector, created a festival to honor sausage. 1963
Events are scheduled for every night of Wurst Week 1967
Wurstfest moved to the Wursthalle in Landa Park 1968
Festival expanded to ten days; Myron Floren of the Lawrence Welk Band made his first appearance 1974
Biergarten, security facilities and restrooms added 1978
Wurstfest grounds tripled in size with the purchase 3.1 acres and a long-term lease on another 4.5 acres 1982
Wurstfest acquired Jerome Nowotny’s “World’s Largest Beer Bottle Collection” consisting of over 15,000 beer vessels, many more than 100 years old 1985
Temporary postal station in the Marktplatz facilitated 25th Anniversary postal cancellations 1987
Larger, clear-span entertainment tents were situated at each end of the Marktplatz 1998
Wurstfest welcomed four-time Grammy Award-winning polka artist Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra 2002
More than 6,000 bottles from the Nowotny Bottle Collection were finally put on public display in the newly opened “Spass Haus” 2007
Kinderhalle opened, featuring special children’s entertainment in cooperation with the New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Department 2010
In celebration of our 50th year, Graf Johannes von Oppersdorf, a direct descendant of Prince Solms, joined us for the festivities. 2011
Stelzenhaus opened to celebrate festival’s 50th Anniversary 2013
Online admission and drink ticket purchases added to wurstfest.com 2014
Stelzenplatz opened to offer additional food, beverages, music and shopping 2016
The Wurstfest Association purchased the ~4.5-acre LCRA property adjacent to the Mill Pond. While Wurstfest had leased the property for over 30 years, its purchase allowed unused portions to be developed in 2018 and 2019. 2018
Improvements to the previously-unused sections of the LCRA property were partially completed, making space for 800 more visitors to enjoy picnic table seating among beautiful landscaping, more food options, and access to additional historical parts of the property.
Work continued in the new area with the careful dismantling of a brick structure that would be rebuilt using those same bricks to house a brand new bar for the growing festival. Named “Wunderbar” by the organization’s board of directors, the completion of this building finalized development of the LCRA tract. 2019
Days after the 2019 festival’s end, tragedy struck. A fire broke out in the historic Marktplatz, home of most of the festival’s food booths, which resulted in a complete loss of the Marktplatz and extensive damage to the nearby Wursthalle. 2020
The COVID pandemic resulted in the cancellation of all large-scale gatherings. For the first time in the festival’s history, the annual event did not take place. 2021
A canceled festival in 2020 gave Wurstfest officials time to complete construction of a beautiful new Marktplatz and surrounding area in time to welcome more than 240,000 revelers to its 60th annual event. A record number of attendees sang an Ein Prosit to the new facility!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8CFb-vobw0
TL;DR
Sausage festival. Started small, now huge. Draws 240k people. German heritage, music, food, beer. Volunteers, history, growth over decades. Fire, COVID, but bounced back. Big party.
