Heritagefest kicks into high gear

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM--As anyone who knows Heritagefest will tell you, Saturdays are the busiest days for the festival.

The evidence was found all around New Ulm.

On Minnesota Street, there was the Marktstrasse-- an arts and crafts fair-- and a crowd gathered in Schonlau Park to hear New Ulm's Glockenspiel ring. Tourists browsed nearly three blocks' worth of booths, which lined the sidewalk with oak furniture and carvings, flowers, snowman dolls, wreaths, potpourri, pottery and decorative signs that read homey things like "God bless the cook" and "Depart with a happy heart."

Further up Minnesota Street, there were lotions that smelled like sweet, exotic fruits, homemade clothing, handwoven rugs, T-shirts with the logos of Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Abercrombie and Fitch... There were washcloths, potholders and blankets, stones sandblasted with images of wildlife and birdhouses built with unfinished lumber...

Sandy Gulden, owner of Sandy's Hallmark on the corner of 1st North and Minnesota, said the best-selling items in her store are Hermann beer steins and Hermann candles.

"Otherwise, you name it, it's been selling," she said. "It's a very happy crowd. It's a spirit. You're into a festival."

Inside the Marktplatz Mall, there were more bargains to be had, as Maurice's and Herberger's--two of the mall's largest stores--had sale racks loaded with clothes marked "40 % off" and "Buy 1, Get 2nd 1/2 Price." Herberger's clerk Theresa Siedl said business picks up on Heritagefest weekends.

"We get a lot of that," she smiled as an out-of-town visitor walked out of the store with new pair of pants. "We expect it."

Down the street at Veigel's Kaiserhoff, the center of New Ulm's German cuisine world, co-owner Jan Veigel was busy with diners looking for tables in a nearly full house.

"There's a lot of people in town," she said. "They love the German foods. Those (Heritagefest weekends) are our two best weekends."

Nextdoor at the Schnitzelbank Stube, Nancy Sluberg was running from table to table taking drink orders from tourists.

"I've only been here since one, but the only two people from town are these guys here," she said, pointing to two older men watching baseball on the television.

When asked what the most popular drink is, Sluberg said, "I've been giving tastes of Schell's beer. They say 'I don't know if I like that. Can I try that?'"

Back on Minnesota Street, Gary Anderson of Sleepy Eye was relaxing in a fold-up chair beneath the tent for his business, Just Nuts. Just Nuts offers 13 different varieties of roasted nuts and has done so for three years, even though it made its first appearance for Heritagefest this year.

"There are lots of tourists with a little discretionary cash to spend," he laughed. "That's why we're here."

Meanwhile, the Brown County Fairgrounds were packed. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Leo Berg was sitting inside the screened front porch of the Heritagefest office, watching the fairgoers from a wooden bench.

"You can tell it's a good day today," he said. There've been a lot of people here. There's a breeze. People are comfortable under the tents and they're staying here. "

Berg says Heritagefest sometimes sees two crowds. The older crowd comes during the day and leaves around 7 p.m., which is just when the younger crowd starts filtering in.

"At eight o'clock, we'll have the biggest crowd of the weekend," Berg said confidently. "We do 60 percent of our business on Saturday."

Berg said Heritagefest's support comes from many places. New Ulmites have done their share in helping tourists find the fairgrounds.

"The most important thing is the weather. If we have poor weather, we do poorly," Berg said.

Sponsorship is a major factor in what makes Heritagefest a success. This year's bratwursts and landjaegers were manufactured entirely by The Sausage Shop in New Ulm. The flowery plants that grace the fairgrounds were arranged by the floral department of the local Hy-Vee store. And then, of course, there's the beer.

"We couldn't be without Schell's," Berg said. "They've been with us from the beginning. I think getting a beer from a small town brewery is a unique thing."

Back outside, Stacy Gilb, a volunteer in a coupon booth, said that since her shift began at 2 p.m., she saw a total of 15,000 coupons sold at the price of 60 cents a ticket--a total of $9,000.

Julie Dauer, an employee of Printwear Graphics, the official vendor of Heritagefest, said the "Not Only Am I Perfect, I'm German Too" is the hottest-selling item.

In the Heritagefest Gift Shop, Carolyn Smith, a part-time Schell's brewery tour guide and journalism instructor, said Heritagefest is a busy time for Schell's. The brewery tours are given every half-hour, rather than the usual hour.

"We've been really happy with the traffic," said gift shop manager Diane Dallman. "Not only are they coming in, but they're buying."

Dallman said some of the most expensive items in the gift shop are a doll set which goes for $300 a pair, porcelain beer steins and nutcrackers. There's also a schwindbogen, a hand-carved piece that German women would use to remind their husbands that there was family at home by putting candles in them. One advantage the gift shop has over downtown New Ulm, according to Dallman, is its convenience.

"They've come. They've parked their cars already," said Dallman.

At the gate to the parking lot stands Jule Robeck, a stay-at-home mother who volunteered for the tough shifts as a gate attendant. Robeck will stay until 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning and works from 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. next Saturday.

"I think it'll be alright as long as it doesn't rain," she said. "I can stand a little heat."