Houstonfest

News and Updates

Important Dates

Mar. 2, 2012: Houstonfest Scholarship applications due

Mar. 9, 2012: Gail Cope Scholarship applications due

Jan. 14, 2013: Houstonfest e-mail registration due by 11:59 p.m. in order to qualify for regular price of $10 per student

Jan. 21, 2013: Last day to submit late registration ($12 per student) and last day to postmark payment check

Jan. 29, 2013: Proof sheet of entrants sent to teachers for final verification and changes

Jan. 31, 2013, 8:00 p.m.: Deadline to submit changes (adds, drops, substitutions). After this point, no more additions or substitutions will be allowed in individual events. Substitution of students in group events may continue in emergency situations.

Feb. 2, 2013: Houstonfest

Feb. x, 2013: State online registration due by 11:59 p.m. in order to qualify for regular price of $10 per student. Online registrations submitted after this point incur the late registration fee of $12 per student.

Feb. x, 2013: State payment check must be postmarked

Feb. 23, 2013: Texas State German Contest, University of Texas at Austin

Houstonfest

Founded in 1980, Houstonfest is an annual competition for Houston-area students in grades 8 through 12 who are learning German. It offers 36 contests for students in German I, II, III, IV, and V, including written and oral tests, declamation, drama, art, and music. There are also categories for "advantaged speakers." Registration is accepted only from German teachers registering their participating students as a group; we do not accept registration from individual students. In 2012, 559 students from 20 schools participated.

Entrants placing in the top five in each event at Houstonfest, traditionally held on the first Saturday of February, advance to the Texas State German Contest, traditionally held on the last Saturday of February. At State, Houstonfest's winners compete against the winners of Texas’ other two regional German competitions, Winterfest for the Dallas and North Texas area and Sprachfest for the Central and South Texas area.

In 2012, Houstonfest was held on February 4 at Clements High School, and State was held on February 25 at the University of Texas at Austin. (Usually, Houstonfest is at Lanier Middle School in Houston, but due to a scheduling conflict there, we moved it to Clements for 2012. We will probably be back at Lanier again in 2013.)

In 2012 we again had entertainment by the band Das ist lustig during the waiting period between the end of the competition and the presentation of the awards.

The teachers and students of the Houston area join our colleagues across the state of Texas in mourning the death on February 21, 2012, of Mary El-Beheri, Director Emerita of the Texas State German Contest and our sister contest Sprachfest. All of us who love and enjoy our Texas German contests owe Mary a deep debt of gratitude for her decades of service and devotion to our state's teachers and students of German.

Ruhe in Frieden, Mary.

Donations made out to the "Mary El-Beheri Memorial Fund" may be mailed to Jennifer Christianson, TSGC Director, P. O. Box 2043, Boerne, TX 78006.

To memorial on the state website

The Tomball German Heritage Festival (March 30 - April 1, 2012) traditionally invites winning Chorus, Folk Dance, and Polka Band groups as well as Vocal Soloists to perform at their festival each year and makes donations to the German Clubs of all schools that perform. In addition, they display the top three prize-winners in Club Album, Crafts, Doll Costume, Needlework, Original Model, Photo Essay, Photography, Poster Design, and T-Shirt Design at the festival, and cash prizes of $30, $25, and $20 are awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively.

Click here to read a document that explains the Texas German contest system in more detail.

When is the next Houstonfest?

Saturday,

February 2, 2013,

8:00 a.m.

Where is Houstonfest?

In 2013, probably back at its customary location at Lanier Middle School in Houston.

Link to Texas State German Contest