Home Uncategorized Fasching Festival kicks off Saturday

Fasching Festival kicks off Saturday

by Minden Press-Herald

This Saturday will be packed will tons of fun, food and activities for the whole family as Minden hosts its Fasching Fifth Season Celebration downtown.

Fasching, or the Karneval, will take over the streets of downtown Minden with a German flair, celebrating the Fasching season, which ends the day before Ash Wednesday. Kerry Easley, festival chairman, says the festival will offer something for everyone.

“The Fasching committee members will meet down here at about 5:30 in the morning and we will start erecting a festival site,” he said. “One side of Pearl Street is going to be the food vendors.”

Vendors will offer a variety of German-style foods including bratwurst and sauerkraut, pretzels and others. Across the street will be an authentic German beer garden.

“You’ll be able to purchase all German beer,” he said. “We have a good variety of different types of German beers.”

Music will be entertaining festival goers all throughout the day, Easley said. German-style music will be the order of the day with several different bands playing, including the Oompahsters, which will start the day with the chicken dance. The German Oompah Band will play as well, he said. Other acts will follow including Elaine Eaton with Exit 49 and the Devil Anse Band.

The karneval will set up downtown in the parking lot, he said, “and we’ve got face painters, and stilt walkers and Santa and his helper will be here passing out goodies to the festival goers.”

And if that’s not enough, festival goers can play a game where participants will get a game card.

“You go to all the different businesses, and frequent their businesses and get a check mark,” he said. “And when you turn your game card in, we draw for the winner. That’s going to be a fun game designed to draw people into our businesses.”

Beginning at 10 a.m., shuttle rides to tour the Germantown Colony Museum will be available for anyone who wishes to learn about Minden’s heritage. Departure and drop off will be in front of Possibilities on Pearl Street, Easley said.

“We’ll also have an information desk that will be manned by the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau by the stage downtown,” he said. “Any questions that you have, just go to the stage, which will be on the street between Roma Italian Bistro and Jamieson, Wise and Martin.”
To culminate the day, a fireworks spectacular will take place at 6 p.m.

Celebrating its German heritage, Minden began celebrating the Fasching Fifth Season at 11:11 a.m., Nov. 11. The Fasching is the German equivalent of the Mardi Gas season, which ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the season of Lent.

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