MAIFEST COSTUMES NOW ON DISPLAY IN DOWNTOWN BRENHAM

  

Costumes from previous Maifest Royalty are now on display at various businesses in downtown Brenham.

There are 30 locations displaying the attire this year. A flyer naming all the locations can be picked up at the downtown stores and the Washington County Visitor Center.

The trains, mantels, and other royal attire are on display in advance of this year’s Maifest celebration, which kicks off with some pre-festival activities this weekend.

The third annual Maifest Color Run will begin at Henderson Park on Saturday from 8:30am – 10:45am.  All proceeds from the Maifest Color Run will be donated to Brenham’s Casa for Kids. For more information, click here.

On Sunday, the Maifest Celebrations will continue with the Polka Service. The service will begin at 10:30am at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 305 W. Third Street in Brenham. There will be worship music with a polka beat. After the church service from noon – 2:00pm there will be a German Heritage Celebration Luncheon in the St. Paul’s Fellowship Hall. The meal will be sausage and sauerkraut with all the trimmings for $10.00 per ticket – dine in or drive thru. Tickets are available at Tres Chic Boutique and the St. Paul’s Church office until April 26th.

The fun really gets underway on Thursday, May 4th when the Mighty Thomas Carival opens on the Maifestival grounds. There will be rides and games for all ages from 5:00pm – 11pm on Thursday and 4:00pm – 11pm on Friday night. The Carnival will open at 11:00 am on Saturday morning until midnight. A donation will be made to Adams Angels from the carnival ticket sales.

The Junior Maifest Coronation will be held Friday evening at 7:00 pm with young children participating in an elaborate outdoor ceremony which provides entertainment and the presentation of the Junior King and Queen. Live bands featuring some of Texas’ best new talent will begin at 5:00pm and continue throughout the evening on Fireman’s Park main stage. The maipole dancers will grace us with their talent at 6:15pm at the Fireman’s Park maypole. Plenty of food, “German soda water”, beer and wine will be available in the Bier and Wine Gartens.

Saturday at 10:30 am, the junior and senior parade will be lining the streets. The parade will feature children riding the floats dressed in costume to coordinate with the court themes. The Brenham Fire Department, celebrating 150 years, and the volunteer fire departments from Washington County will be supporting the Maifest parade while driving their fire trucks through the parade route, as well as the Shriners, local officials, high school and college marching bands, the Plungettes and the Beachers, to name a few.  This year St. Paul’s Day School were the art contest winners for the art float design contest. The theme is related to springtime in Brenham with park benches, a mailpole, and hobby horses all under a beautiful shade tree.

After the parade, the community is invited to the festival at Fireman’s Park for a great day at the park with entertainment for all ages.

Admission is free to the Maifestival grounds on May 5th and 6th and will feature:

• German Music and dancing, food vendors, such as German food, Mexican food, pizza, hamburgers, corndogs and funnel cakes to name a few, children’s activities and to include the Boys and Girls Club selling Blue Bell ice cream.
• The Zythological Society of North America will be hosting the Bierverkostung Beer Tasting. From 2:00 – 5:00 pm with tasting tents set up throughout Fireman’s Park. Come and buy a glass for $40, allowing you to try 24 different beers from 12 Texas Craft Breweries, while you listen to German music throughout the festival.

There will be transportation from downtown Brenham (parking lot at Vulcan and Park St) and Brenham high school parking lot to the festival. Transportation begins 30 minutes before the festival begins and runs 30 minutes after the festival ends each day.

General Admission tickets are still available for the coronations on Friday and Saturday nights; $5 for student tickets and $10 for general admission. These tickets can be purchased at the Atrium Building (105 E Main, Suite 100A), and at the coronation practices during the week of Maifest. Maifest programs will be available for $2.00 a piece.

Maifest has provided over $61,000 in scholarships over the past 29 years to help students in our community attend college. This year’s scholarship six recipient(s) will be announced on May 8, 2017.

For more information, coronation tickets, and a full schedule, visit maifest.org.