Saturday, October 10th at the Athenaeum, just off of Mass Ave downtown, Indiana residents celebrated the 7th Annual Original and Fabulous GermanFest. This year’s GermanFest was sponsored by MOKB and cost $10 per adult and $3 per child under 12.
The rundown of events consisted of a German car show on Michigan Street, Durstig Games, Wiener Dog Races, a 5k Lederhosen Run, a strong man competition, a yodeling contest, kids’ activities, live music, and German food and beer.
The entrance on Michigan Street in front of the famous Rathskeller building showcased Durstig Games as community members lined up to enter the main festival area. Once inside, the strong man competitions could be seen on the right, with a few vendors selling art, furniture, and jewelry to the right. Straight ahead was the event most of the visitors were buzzing about – the weiner dog races.
The Weiner Dog Races are always the highlight of German Fest, with hundreds of dachshunds trotting around the festival, some in costume, and others in race gear, to participate or cheer their fellow dachshunds on. There are four races total, each starting on the hour between 1pm and 4pm. In between official races, participants can practice in the race area.
The food and drinks at GermanFest boast some authentic German treats, like bratwurst and pretzels, along with traditional beer in steins. Other food options like elephant ears, corndogs, and French fries are also available.
If you have kids, GermanFest provides top quality entertainment for children. Their Kinderland space includes art projects such as painting and craft projects such as building your own play sword or headdress. The bouncy castle was a particularly big hit, as was the face painting booth.
On our way out of GermanFest, we walked through Indy Urban Flea, the large gathering of local business vendors selling unique furniture, art, jewelry, books, clothing, and more. There were a ton of booths to explore, with dachshunds still littering the street, and greeting guests who walked by.
GermanFest is just one of the many fun-filled events that downtown residents look forward to every year. This year’s proceeds went towards supporting the Athenaeum Foundation, as well as supporting individual German groups.