Heritagefest adds new wrinkles

Karaoke, sauerkraut wrestling, on tap

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- With an influx of new music, sponsorships, special features and reduced expenses, hopes are high for the 30th annual Heritagefest July 9-11 and 16-18, 2004.

The musical menu will feature 69 Cents, an 80's band from the Mankato-Lake Crystal area; Nashville's beautiful accordion player LynnMarie; Chicago's New Odyssey, a Heritagefest favorite; a variety of European performers; and of course, the Concord Singers.

New activities include Heritagefest Challenges, Karaoke and sauerkraut wrestling. Standbys include a large selection of ethnic food and beverage specialties including Schell's beer tasting and brewing process explanations, a huge parade, 2-mile, 10k and Kinderlauf children's races, arts and crafts, nightly New Ulm Battery cannon performances, Tuba Mania, and the Kinderfest area will return.

Heritagefest Inc. President Hugh Nierengarten explained that despite a $60,606 loss last year, the event will continue for at least the next two years.

Heritagefest was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Festivals in North America by the American Bus Association.

This year, the festival is expected to be more popular and more challenging for several reasons. First, New Ulm is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The parade is expected to be particularly large since 2004 is an election year.

Challenges include road construction on North Broadway, from Seventh to 20th Street North from April through October. Access to North Broadway during that time will be limited, but still open to fest traffic.

Festival officials continue to hold fast to the premise of bringing it back to a positive fiscal position.

"Nobody is deserting this ship," Nierengarten said. "We're making an attempt to stabilize it and bring it back to fiscal health ... We've always been on budget with things we can control and we pay everybody."

Nierengarten said Heritagefest represents an important city promotion, ranking with Schell's Brewery and the Kaiserhoff for maintaining high-class, a good reputation and a good product that brings people to town.

He added that the fest's flow-through benefits paid $43,000 to local and area non-profit organizations that volunteered last year.

Kathleen Backer agreed to continue as the Heritagefest Executive Director at least through this year's festival. She noted that the fest's original audience is shrinking so attempts are being made to gear Heritagefest to appeal to younger ages.

"We're excited about the opportunity to continue," Backer said. "By embracing new partnerships, we've raised $35,000 for each of the next two years. We're going forward as a team and making this happen."

Backer added that more than 900 senior high students at all three New Ulm schools were recently surveyed to see what they wanted in Heritagefest and how they would like to be involved. About 100 students said they would help out at this year's festival.

New promotion ideas include a Mr. and Mrs. Festmeister and Mr. and Mrs. New Ulm Day.

Other new wrinkles this year include Cindy Wall as new president of the parade committee. She replaces Dick Wilbrecht who stepped aside after 28 years in that position. Nikki Ward is the new youth representative on the fest board.

Among the glitches at last year's fest was an automatic teller machine that emptied all its money to patrons. Nierengarten said that thanks to many honest fest-goers, all the money was returned.

Heritagefest Narren President Sue Fix was knighted at the St. Paul Winter Carnival last weekend. The Narren's next local performance will be Feb. 14 at the Kinder Fasching.

Fest board directors Leo Berg, Nierengarten, Mike Furth, and Bruce Fenske were re-elected to three-year terms.