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Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill State Historic Sites will host their fourth annual Bluff SchuetzenFest celebrating German heritage and Texas brewing history on Saturday, May 17th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in LaGrange. This free family festival offers a full day of live music, traditional crafts and games, historic demonstrations, tours of the Kreische brewery ruins, food and drink, and more.
“Bluff SchuetzenFest continues the legacy of the Bluff Schuetzenverein, a German Texan marksmanship and social club that once made the Bluff their home,” says Assistant Sites Manager Gavin Miculka. “Texans from far and wide came up to the Bluff for monthly gatherings, which almost always included music, dancing, shooting competitions, and, of course, plenty of beer.” Though the group disbanded nearly 100 years ago, their former “Schuetzen Park” grounds provide the ideal location for the reimagined SchuetzenFest today.
The festivities will kick off with a Spasslauf 5K Fun Run beginning at 9:30 a.m. The starting line is located at the KC Hall in downtown La Grange and follows the traditional “marching” route of the Bluff Schuetzenverein up to the festival grounds. To add even more “fun” to the run, the 5K will include two new contests for runners. Prizes will be awarded to the “Best German Dressed” runner as well as the participant who completes the race with the most liquid remaining in their commemorative stein. Awards will be announced at the opening ceremony of Bluff SchuetzenFest, which begins at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. Registration for the Spasslauf 5K is available online and on the morning of the event.
New this year is “The Great Bluff Scavenger Hunt” -- an allages scavenger hunt designed to enhance guests’ festival experience. All participants who complete this self-guided quest will receive an exclusive prize and an entry to a raffle drawing. The sites have also expanded historic demonstrations at the Kreische House with a nine-pin bowling lane -an important tie to German Texan heritage. The laser shooting gallery, sponsored by the German Texan Heritage Society, returns as well to hearken back to the Schuetzenverein’s traditional “King Shoot” held on the Bluff.
The Texas History on Tap beer garden, sponsored by National Bank and Trust, will be in full swing starting at 1 p.m. This fundraiser celebrates the legacy of brewmaster Heinrich Kreische and Texas’s rich brewing heritage. This year, 18 craft breweries will offer ticketholders samples of their best, including nine special limited releases brewed exclusively for SchuetzenFest. Beer garden ticket sales support education and preservation initiatives led by the nonprofit Friends of Kreische Brewery & Monument Hill.
Beer garden ticketholders can also reserve a spot in a brand-new beer tasting: “Tastes of Texas.” The hour-long “Tutored Tasting,” led by award-winning beer writer Ruvani de Silva, is an exclusive experience at Bluff SchuetzenFest that will enhance guests’ knowledge of German Texan beer styles. Tickets for the beer garden and beer tasting class are available online or at the door.
For details on Bluff SchuetzenFest, the 5K Fun Run, and Texas History on Tap, visit www.bluffschuetzenfest. org, or call (979) 968-5658.
