The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Enjoy

Discussion

August 13, 2009

Ernte Fest to be staged this weekend in Freistatt

By Scott Meeker

smeeker@joplinglobe.com

FREISTATT, Mo. — It’s time to break out the lederhosen.

The Freistatt Lions Club will present the 36th annual Ernte Fest from 4:30 p.m. to midnight today and Saturday. The festival grounds are located between Mount Vernon and Monett on H Highway.

A fund-raiser for the charities supported by the Lions Club, the event has become a popular regional celebration of German heritage.

“As soon as it’s over, we’re starting plans for the next one,” said club member Jerry Sitton. “It’s become a year round deal.”

Sitton said the event features a bier garten, polka music and bratwurst — all the essentials for an authentic celebration.

“We have people come in German lederhosen and the gals in their dresses,” he said. “There’s not a whole bunch, but there are some people who come dressed in German fashions.”

Ernte Fest — which means “harvest festival” — was first held in 1974 at the community building in downtown Freistatt. That first year, a tornado hit and blew the piano off of a wagon that was being used as a makeshift stage.

The event quickly grew in popularity and required more space than was available at the community building. The club soon purchased 40 acres on the north side of town as a place to hold the festival.

Sitton said that since its inception, Ernte Fest has raised close to $600,000 for club charities, which include purchasing glasses for children who need them, funding scholarships for local high-school students and other assistance programs.

One of the highlights is seeing how the community supports the event, said Sitton.

“The whole community comes out and works to prepare for it,” he said.

Ernte Fest will include games, a horse-drawn merry-go-round and rides for kids. Live music will be offered both nights. The Johnnie Zibert Band will perform German music from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by The Sauerkrauts from 8 p.m. to midnight. On the second stage, country rock group Southern Green will be featured at 8 p.m. today, and Side FX at 8 p.m. Saturday. Only adults ages 21 and older and children accompanied by parents will be admitted to the bier garten.

There is a $3 parking fee per car. Dinner — which includes bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad and more — is $7 for adults and $3.50 for children.

Details: www.erntefest.org

Text Only
Enjoy
  • 052512_amp-5fdp2.jpg Fayetteville venue brings more big-name concerts to area

    Staff members at the Arkansas Music Pavilion are under no illusion. They know that those three and all the other thousands of people turned out to see the band that would take the stage, not the venue itself. (Carlton said she would go to hell to see the right band.)

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • psrobber2.jpg Broadway, bluegrass fused in ‘Bridegroom’

    Ann Lile loves bluegrass music and fun stories. She plans to turn back the clock at the Joplin Little Theatre to 18th-century Mississippi and fill the air with live bluegrass music and a tale of theives and lovers with her direction of “The Robber Bridegroom.”

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • jeremycamp.jpg Second Restore Fest to feature Jeremy Camp, Mandisa

    Jeff Roman, partner relations director at Convoy of Hope, worked with Cox to return Christian recording artists to the stage in the second Restore Fest, which will take place Saturday in Landreth Park.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Joe Hadsall Joe Hadsall: Sherlock Holmes enjoying a renaissance

    I was in the first grade when I read my first “Sherlock Holmes” book. It was a young readers edition of “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” Each left-hand page had 14- or 16-point text set in New Century Schoolbook; each right-hand page had a line illustration. One of those was a big, scary-looking dog.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • images_sizedimage_094173528 'Battleship' shows need for list of summer movie warnings

    I like to think that writing these columns does more than just allow me a chance to offer up senseless opinions that are easy to skip over when trying to find the next show time for the latest “Madagascar.”

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Jermiah-Tucker-020812.jpg Jeremiah Tucker: New charting methods help alternative music

    Now the Hot 100 is using digital data such as iTunes downloads and plays on streaming sites such as Spotify, in addition to radio play, to determine a song’s ranking. This is likely a big reason why a song like “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which has benefited from high-profile exposure on TV, can be the No. 1 song in the country.

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Lee-Duran-033010.jpg Lee Duran: Aspiring authors must ‘be tough or be gone’

    According to Chila Woychick, most readers will close a book and walk away at page 18. Could anything be more depressing?

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • images_sizedimage_033103148 Dave Woods: Branson attractions welcome Memorial Day visitors

    People ask me the same question time and time again: How are folks in Branson?

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • Dave Woods: Branson attractions welcome Memorial Day visitors

    On Feb. 29, an EF-1 storm bounced its way through the Midwest’s Music City. It ripped roofs off of theaters and motels, damaged dozens of glitzy showbiz signs, collapsed the walls of retail outlets and dampened the spirits of a community ready to kick off the spring travel season.

    May 25, 2012

  • Lee-Duran-033010.jpg Lee Duran: Self-publishing brings success to twenty-something

    I doubt there’s any to top that of Amanda Hocking. Considering that she’s only in her mid-20s, she’s come a long way from the days of rejection by agents and publishing houses and go-nowhere jobs.

    May 18, 2012 1 Photo