Houstonfest 2010

Houstonfest is an annual competition for Houston-area students in grades 8 through 12 who are learning German.  It offers 33 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.

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 2010, Houstonfest was on February 6 at Lanier Middle School, and State will be on February 27 at the University of Texas at Austin.  We had 619 students registered for Houstonfest 2010.  Congratulations to all our participants and winners!

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

New for 2010

We had entertainment by the band Das ist lustig during the waiting period between the end of the competition and the presentation of the awards, along with student performances (~2:00-3:30).

Also, the Tomball German Heritage Festival invites Chorus, Folk Dance, and Polka Band groups as well as Vocal Soloists to perform at the festival on March 27 or 28.  A donation will be made to the school's German Club.  In addition, they would like to display the top three prize-winners in Club Album, Doll Costume, Needlework, Photo Essay, Poster Design, and T-Shirt Design.  Cash prizes of $25, $20, and $15 will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively if the student agrees to display the artwork at the festival.  Read more about these offers...