News and Updates

Special Rules and Procedures for the 2021 Remote Contest

Houstonfest Scholarships

Scholarships at State

Teacher-to-Teacher Tips

Tips for Pair Discussion

Photo Gallery 2014

Arrival at Heights High School

Lunch options

Plays will be performed at Houstonfest

Daily log of changes to state-qualifier list

Important Dates

Fri., Jan. 15, 2021:  Regular deadline to submit registration spreadsheet in order to pay regular price of $10/student (payment does not have to be mailed until 1/25).

Mon., Jan. 25, 2021:  Final deadline to submit registration spreadsheet for late price of $12/student and deadline to postmark payment.

Mon., Feb. 1, 2021:  Proof sheet of entries sent to teachers for final verification and changes.

Wed., Feb. 3, 2021, 8:00 p.m.:  Deadline to submit changes (adds, drops, substitutions). After this point, no more additions or substitutions will be allowed.

Sat., Feb. 6, 2021:  Houstonfest (100% remote): some events conducted "live" (online) that day, all others submitted digitally by 9:00 a.m.

Sat., Feb. 13, 2021:  Houstonfest online awards ceremony, time TBA.

Wed., Feb. 17, 2021:  State online registration due by 11:59 p.m. for "early bird" price of $10/student (payment does not have to be mailed yet). Also, deadline to apply for the Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship and to submit entries for promotional video contest to State director Jennifer Christianson.

Mon., Feb. 22, 2021:  State online registration due by 11:59 p.m. at regular price of $12/student.

Sat., Feb. 27, 2021:  Texas State German Contest (100% remote): some events conducted "live" (online) that day, all others submitted digitally by 9:00 a.m.

Sat., Mar. 6, 2021:  State online awards ceremony, time TBA. Also, Houstonfest Scholarship applications due.

Fri., Mar. 12, 2021:  Gail Cope Scholarship applications due.

Fri., April 30, 2021:  Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications due.

Houstonfest Registration

February 6, 2021

Registration for 2021's remote version of Houstonfest will open in January 2021.

• To register, simply fill out this registration form (Excel spreadsheet):  click on the link, save the spreadsheet to your computer, fill it out, save it again, and then e-mail it as an attachment to rustinbuck@comcast.net.

• PLEASE USE Lastname, Firstname FORMAT FOR ENTERING STUDENT NAMES.  If you do not have access to a computer on which Excel is installed, let the director know.  Here is a sample form if you have any questions about how to fill out the registration form (it's a sample of the pre-pandemic form rather than the unique 2021 form, but the concept is the same).

• The only thing you need to send by regular mail is your payment check.  You may wish to enclose a print-out of the first page of the registration form, but there is no need to enclose all the pages.

• Send the regular fee of $10 per student if your registration form is e-mailed by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 15, 2021.  (But your payment check doesn't have to be in the mail by then -- see two bullets down.)

• Send the late fee of $12 per student if your registration form is e-mailed during the period from Saturday, January 16, to Monday, January 25, 2021.  Late registration will not be accepted after 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 25, 2021.

• Regardless of whether you submit your e-mail registration by the regular or the late deadline, your payment check should be postmarked by Monday, January 25, 2021.

• Make your check payable to "Houstonfest" or "Texas State German Contests, Inc. dba Houstonfest," depending on how your school district has us set up in its vendor system.  For a personal check, "Houstonfest" is sufficient.

• Mail payment to:

Houstonfest

2507 Slippery Rock Dr.

Sugar Land, TX  77498-1909

• Incentives for new schools to participate:  We will waive the registration fee for up to 5 students from any school that has not attended Houstonfest in the last 5 years, and these schools will pay the regular price of $10 for any students beyond the first 5, even if they enter during the "late" registration period.  [Not applicable for 2021, but generally:  Also, teachers who are brand new to Houstonfest may request to be excused from judging for the first year so that they can move freely around the contest and see how things work.]  Contact director Rustin Buck to take advantage of these offers; the registration spreadsheet is not set up to reflect them.

• No registration fees will be refunded for any reason.

• Upon receiving your registration form, the director will make every effort to send you a confirmation e-mail within 24 hours.  If you don't receive a confirmation e-mail within 48 hours, please contact the director.

• If you have additions, deletions, or other changes to your roster of participants, make the changes in the registration spreadsheet that you originally submitted and email the updated spreadsheet to rustinbuck@comcast.net.  It is OK if you end up sending the spreadsheet multiple times.  The director will just keep deleting the previous one you sent and substituting the new one.

• Rationale for registration via Excel spreadsheet:  Having everyone use an identical spreadsheet format for submitting the student names allows the director to use the information more efficiently (totaling up participant numbers, making participant lists for the judges, etc.).