Wurstfest marks 65 years of heritage and community impact

In 1961, New Braunfels veterinarian and city meat inspector Ed Grist set out to celebrate the city’s sausage makers. The first event, called the Sausage Festival, drew about 2,000 people. Afterward, local cafes, meat markets and grocery stores spent a week featuring products from area sausage makers.

The celebration quickly became known as Wurst Week, then later, Wurstfest. As time passed, the festival outgrew its original downtown location and moved to its current grounds at Landa Park, along the Comal River, where organizers first occupied part of what is now the Wursthalle. The event has since expanded into a 10-day festival that draws more than 230,000 visitors each year.

The details have changed over the decades, but the original focus on New Braunfels’ German heritage, local businesses and community remains, said Marc Allen, this year’s Wurstfest president.

“I think Ed Grist would be extremely proud of how we never lost sight of what he started,” Allen said. “We’re not just putting on a festival, we’re preserving a piece of New Braunfels’ history.”

This year’s event is the 65th Wurstfest. Today, visitors come for German-inspired food and drink, music, dancing and family activities. Sausage making remains part of the program, alongside traditions like the opening ceremony and “biting of the sausage.”

For Allen, Wurstfest’s growth matters because visitors ultimately support businesses throughout the city.

“Our mission has remained the same: promote our local economy through tourism while preserving and celebrating our German heritage,” he said. “Those visitors stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores and experience everything New Braunfels has to offer. The economic impact extends well beyond the festival grounds.”

A festival built with the community

Wurstfest’s community role is also visible in its food and merchandise booths. More than 25 local nonprofit organizations sell food, drinks or goods during the festival. Other groups benefit by selling parking or helping direct traffic.

Wurstfest provides the venue, infrastructure, entertainment and thousands of visitors. The organizations bring their volunteers, recipes and traditions, Allen said. For some, the 10 days can provide much of the funding they need for the year.

“Operating concessions and other fundraising activities during Wurstfest have been a part of tradition for generations,” he said. “The money that they earn goes right back into our community.”

[Related: Check out the local nonprofits that are fundraising at Wurstfest this year]

He said the money supports everything from scholarships and youth programs to civic improvements and charitable services.

“When someone buys a potato pancake or sausage on a stick or any other festival favorite, they may not realize that they’re supporting local organizations that do work throughout the year,” Allen said. “The success of Wurstfest isn’t just measured by attendance or revenue. It’s also measured by how many organizations benefit.”

Turning tradition into lasting support

Wurstfest is expanding its direct giving as well. In 2026, it established a donations committee and partnered with the New Braunfels Community Foundation to create a process for reviewing grant requests and supporting long-term charitable giving.

This year, Wurstfest contributed $1 million to the foundation. Two-thirds of that fund has been or will be distributed directly to nonprofits before year’s end. The remaining funds are being placed in an endowment to grow and support community giving in the future.

Allen said the effort builds on years of financial management and investment in the festival, including rebuilding after a fire in 2019. Wurstfest paid off the remaining debt associated with that work in 2025.

“We’ve always believed the success of Wurstfest should benefit our community, which has supported us for six decades,” Allen said.

This year, Wurstfest awarded $75,000 in scholarships to area high school students, he said. It also allocated $120,000 for the Big Give, where local nonprofits could receive matching donations; Wurstfest ultimately matched $107,000 raised during the event. Other contributions include sponsorships for community organizations and fundraising for the Rock House Foundation.

More than 10 days of work

Nearly 300 Wurstfest members, known as Opas, contribute more than 5,000 volunteer hours during the festival. They also spend many additional hours planning, serving on committees and maintaining the grounds throughout the year.

“People see us in lederhosen during Wurstfest and think that’s all we do,” Allen said. “What they don’t always see is the work that happens throughout the other 355 days of the year.”

That work keeps Grist’s original idea alive: celebrating New Braunfels’ heritage while supporting the community that has sustained Wurstfest for generations.

Wurstfest runs Nov. 6-15 in Landa Park, along the Comal River, with German-inspired food and drink, live music, dancing and family activities.

Purchase discounted tickets online and enjoy free admission Monday through Thursday.

Click or tap here to learn more about the festival.