135TH MAIFEST ROYALTY ANNOUNCED AT SERENADE

  

The royalty for the 135^th Brenham Maifest was revealed on Sunday at the annual Maifest Serenade at The Barnhill Center.

Serving as 2025’s Junior Maifest Queen and King are Elizabeth Grace “Ellie” Alfred and Everett Alexander McCarty Gonzales.  The two will reign over the court of “The Wonderful Things We Imagine.”

Elizabeth is the daughter of Kurt and Lauren Alfred, and Everett is the son of Brandon and Molly Gonzales.

This year’s Senior Maifest Queen and King are Emerson “Emmie” Taylor Behrens and Henry Latham Stopschinski.  They will reign over the court of “Summer of a Lifetime.”

Emerson is the daughter of Keith and Kimberley Behrens, and Henry is the son of Karl and Sarah Stopschinski.

Registration to participate in the Maifest, scheduled for the first weekend of May, is now open at www.brenhammaifest.com. 

A video of the Serenade can be viewed on KWHI’s Facebook page.

Full press release from the Brenham Maifest Association below:

Senior Maifest

Henry Latham Stopschinski has been selected as this year’s 135th Senior Maifest King, reigning over the Court of “Summer of a Lifetime” with his friend since kindergarten, Senior Queen, Emerson “Emmie” Behrens. King Henry has the honor of being the first in his immediate family to serve as Maifest Royalty, and is honored to carry on the tradition of his great-great aunt, Senior Queen Willie Mae Knolle Hasskarl from over a century ago.

Henry is the son of Karl and Sarah Stopschinski and the younger brother to sister Ada who is currently a sophomore at NYU. He is the grandson of the late Heinz “Hank” and Jane Aiken Stophschinski and of Andrew Peden and Julie Latham Greenwood of Houston, Texas. Our Senior King is proud of his German heritage and he and his family are thrilled to help host our town’s favorite German tradition this year. 

Henry has loved participating in Maifest over the years, and got his start as a Harlem Globetrotter with his St. Pauls CDS friends. Some of his other favorite Maifest memories are as a Jedi warrior, a Braveheart, and a Dragon Dancer. His fondest memory is as a Pirate Jester - complete with a stuffed parrot on his shoulder! 

A senior at Brenham High School, Henry has been in band and ran cross country for the Cubs. He loves his job as a mechanic at Brenham Repair Center, where he has worked for the past 2 years. He also helps at his family business, Dixie Motel, the mid-century motor court purchased and lovingly renovated by his parents. Henry is a helper by nature, and enjoys assisting in the set up and take down for vendors during Round Top Antique Week. In the summer, you can find him working as a camp counselor at Prude Ranch in Fort Davis.

For fun, King Henry enjoys fly fishing, bow hunting, hanging out on the Nueces River, going to concerts, and training his border collie puppy to catch frisbees competitively. He also loves picking up a game of basketball or baseball every now and then with his former Little Dribblers and Washington County Little League teammates. 

In the Fall, Henry will be studying Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University - and cannot wait to be a Red Raider.

Join Henry at Brenham’s amazing springtime tradition, as he and Emmie help host the 2025 Senior Maifest, “Summer of a Lifetime.” 

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Emerson “Emmie” Taylor Behrens is the 135th Senior Maifest Queen. She is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Kimberley and Keith Behrens, and the younger sister to Ashton who reigned over the court of Musical Memories as the 133rd Senior Maifest King. Emmie participated in her first Maifest while a Bouncing Bear at St. Paul's Christian Day School. She has fond memories participating in past Junior and Senior Maifests as a maipole dancer, Lucy Ricardo, a scarecrow, copacabana lounge singer, princess leia, and many other memorable characters. She is excited and honored to be selected as the Senior Queen this year.

Emmie is currently a Senior at Brenham High School where she has been a part of the Brenham High School Cheer team since her freshman year. Throughout her years in cheer, she has been a 4 time UCA All American recipient, receiving the “Pin it Forward” award and UCA staff nomination. She is a member of Heritage Belles, Anchor Club, National Honor Society, and was a Girls State nominee. She is following in her family’s footsteps and will be attending Texas A&M in the Fall, majoring in Sport Management. 

Emmie enjoys shopping, traveling, hanging out with her friends, and spending time with her family. She also enjoys volunteering at Bread Partners with her grandmother whenever she gets the chance. Additionally, one of her favorite traditions is volunteering at The Cannery’s annual Thanksgiving Meal. She has served in the dining room alongside her family for 10 years.  It is a holiday tradition she holds dear to her heart. 

Emmie is the granddaughter of Betsy Spiller and the late Guy Spiller of Brenham; and Karen and Mike Behrens of Yoakum.

Emmie will reign over the 2025 Senior Maifest “Summer of A Lifetime” with King Henry Stopschinski. 

Junior Maifest

Elizabeth Grace “Ellie” Alfred, daughter of Kurt and Lauren Alfred, is honored to be the 2025 Junior Maifest Queen. Ellie is thrilled to continue the legacy of Maifest royalty as the third generation in her family to hold the title, and the fourth generation to participate in the Maifest celebration. Previous family royalty include her grandmother, Deanna Dippel Alfred (1966), father, Kurt Alfred (1993), and uncle, Corby Alfred (1990).

Ellie made her Maifest debut at just one year old, playing a sweet seahorse in her cousin Victoria Dippel’s court. Over the years, she has embraced many fun roles—from an alien cheerleader to a patriot, and even channeling Dolly Parton. Her most memorable moment, however, was the year she danced the Maipole alongside this year’s Junior Maifest King, Everett Gonzales. For Ellie, Maifest is about the friendships and memories she has created along the way.

A passionate dancer since the age of three, Ellie has a special love for ballet, but it’s gymnastics that truly fuels her competitive spirit. When she’s not perfecting her back handspring on the trampoline, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book. Ellie loves reading classics with her mom and enjoys making up stories to share with her younger siblings, Lydia and Andrew.

In addition to her many talents, Ellie is an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and is a third-grader at St. Paul’s Christian Day School, where she continues to grow in faith and friendship. Outside of school, Ellie is involved with American Heritage Girls, combining her love for adventure and creativity with a strong sense of service and community. During the summer, Ellie can be found making a splash at Camp Longhorn, and in the fall, you’ll likely catch her cheering on her favorite football team, the Texas Longhorns.

Ellie is the proud granddaughter of Ron and Deanna Alfred, Lynn and the late Kent Van Eman, and the great-granddaughter of Willie and Grace Kankel, Pat and the late James Van Eman, the late Tieman H. and Evelyn Knolle Dippel, and the late Houpert and Alyne Alfred.

Ellie will reign over the 2025 Junior Maifest “The Wonderful Things We Imagine” with King Everett Gonzales.

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Everett Alexander McCarty Gonzales, son of Brandon and Molly Gonzales, is grateful and humbled to serve as your 2025 Junior Maifest King. Everett couldn’t be more excited to become the second generation of royalty in his family, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Dallas Gonzales, 2013 Senior Maifest King of, “Live from New York, It’s Maifest 2013!” His godmother, Julianna Stark Wanek, also wore the crown proudly in 1999 where she reigned over the Junior court, “Celebrations of the Century.”

Everett’s first year of Maifest began with a splash, where he toddled down the path with his trident and pacifier as Lord Commander of the Seven Seas in his honorary aunt Gracie’s royal court. From a scuba diver, to jouster, to Space Jam basketball player, Transformer, and more – Everett has enjoyed taking on the roles of the different creative characters over the years. His favorite Maifest memories include dancing the Maipole with his fellow queen, Ellie Alfred, and joining his brother Rory as the Keeper of the Suits while decked out with a steel case and earpiece in the 2024 Senior royal court. For Everett, Maifest means friends, fun, and a chance to gather as a community to celebrate the place we call home.

When not tearing up the soccer fields, Everett can typically be found playing outside on the trampoline, antagonizing his younger brother Rory, building Legos, reading a book, or strategizing how to get to the next level of his video game. When peace has descended on the household, Everett loves putting heads together with his brother and creating comic book adventures with the likes of Evotron or Captain Cupcake. Everett is currently a third grader at Krause Elementary School where he enjoys trading sarcasm with his teachers and making new friends. During the summer, you can find Everett cooling off in any body of water, roller blading, or traveling with family to new destinations.

Everett is the proud grandson of Javier and Daphne Gonzales, Tracey Splitt, Dr. Christopher and the late Betty McCarty. He is the great-grandson of Reyes and Victoria Gonzales, Bill and Diane Wooten, David and Martha Gose, the late Walter and Diane Rohrig, the late Gerald and Elaine McCarty, and the late Randolph and Eleanor Seligman.

Everett will reign over the 2025 Junior Maifest, “The Wonderful Things We Imagine” with Queen Ellie Alfred.