The Tribune News

http://www.tribunenews.com/news/250-german-festival-draws-enormous-crowds-to-tomball.html

German festival draws ‘enormous’ crowds to Tomball

If it wasn’t already, the Tomball German Heritage Festival is now unofficially on the map among the best festivals in the Houston area.

Pictured, Alpenfest performs during the German Heritage Festival March 28 in downtown Tomball. See more photos from the festival on Page 14.

A weekend of crisp, clear weather helped bring out more than 20,000 people to the fledgling festival, according to Grady Martin, president of the Tomball Sister City Organization, which put on the event.

“The crowd wasn’t big, it was enormous,” Martin said.

While the festival kicked off on Friday, March 27, the largest crowds flocked to downtown Tomball early Saturday morning.

“It started at 10 a.m. and the crowds stayed until 10 p.m.,” Martin said. “People were having such a good time, they didn’t want to leave.”

The following Sunday was also well attended, which kicked off with a church service at the newly-constructed gazebo at the depot. Martin credited the City of Tomball and Mayor Gretchen Fagan for backing the festival and making widespread improvements in the downtown and depot areas.

“We really made a footprint here with the festival,” Marin said. “I think we’ll look back at this festival and see this as a pinnacle going in a new direction.”

The festival was not only enjoyed by Tomball residents, but by visitors from other cities, states and even countries.

“I was so surprised, I talked to so many people form other states, from other countries, like Canada, Mexico, and Germany, of course,” Martin said. “I didn’t find too many people that were unhappy with the festival.”

Other than creating a family event for local citizens, Martin said one of the goal’s of the German Heritage Festival is to bring people to the city.

“Our real goal is bring people in from out of town and to get people to staying in the hotels and spend some time in Tomball,” he said.

This year’s festival was the ninth German Heritage Festival in Tomball and Martin believes this year’s success has firmly entrenched the event as a top draw in the Houston area.