A Spassfest banner carried during the 2019 Albers Fourth of July parade. Inset: 2019 Spassfest parade grand marshal Don Albers and parade chair Sherri Diesen. (Photos by Melissa Wilkinson) Germantown’s famous Spassfest is back in all its glory, beginning on Aug. 17 at 11 a.m. at Schoedienst Park in Germantown.
Unlike last year’s “Bierfest” — a scaled down version of Spassfest designed to put less stress on volunteers — this year’s 52nd annual Spassfest will see the return of the parade. The 2019 parade theme is “Celebrating our Heritage, Two Flags at a Time.”
This year’s parade grand marshal is Don Albers, a Germantown businessman who has been instrumental in Spassfest since its initiation.
“It started as a fundraiser with a bunch of older guys, including my dad. They wanted to do something so we could establish parks,” said Albers. “Over the years we’ve had some very successful events. The first few years it was not uncommon to sell four or five hundred half barrels of beer.”
Spassfest has evolved over the years from simply a fundraiser into a celebration of German culture and heritage, attracting people from all over Clinton County and beyond. This year’s event also features the return of German-themed “Polka Mass” on Saturday evening as well as a Sunday morning breakfast in the park.
According to Sherri Diesen, parade chair since 2007, the funds raised from Spassfest are allocated to community-based groups and projects in Germantown. The success of Spassfest, as well as its ability to support the Germantown community, is dependent on volunteers, who typically work for two-hour shifts in the booth of their choice.
“Some people haven’t been in Germantown for a long time. A lot of them don’t know what Spassfest is all about,” said Diesen. “We’ve always had a dedicated committee group that has done it for several years but they’re starting to get older. We need new bodies. That’s one thing we’re really struggling with this year.”
| Fri., July 12 |
451.18 |
| Sun., July 14 |
450.75 |
| Tues., July 16 | 450.44 |
| July 10 | .00" |
| July 11 | .00" |
| July 12 | .00" |
| July 13 | .00" |
| July 14 | .00" |
| July 15 | .00" |
| July 16 | .54" |
