Volksfest-inspired German Kulturfest returns to the Hjemkomst Center

The popular German Kulturfest returns to the Hjemkomst Center on Saturday, September 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hosted by the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, the annual family-friendly festival highlights the Red River Valley’s prominent German heritage with a Volksfest-inspired day of traditional foods, drinks, and music.

Returning polka favorites Dale Dahmen and the Beats take the mainstage at 10:00 a.m. and they are followed by short performances from minstrel accordionist Johan Stenslie and the FM Ballet German Dancers. Fargo locals The Meat Rabbits perform at 1:30 p.m. with a set combining traditional polka and contemporary rock and pop music.

In the Bier Hall, visitors can sample traditional German foods from local chef Rob Vedaa. This year’s menu includes stalwart items like sauerbraten, currywurst, bratwurst, vegan bratwurst, pretzels with beer cheese or mustard, sauerkraut, knoephla, and spaetzle. Karen’s Kuchens provides dessert, and the cash bar will include traditional German wines and cheeses, along with German imports and German-style brews from sponsor Fargo Brewing Company.

A German market takes form in the Hjemkomst Center, filled with German arts and crafts vendors, like Evelyn Engle’s Bunzlau Polish Pottery and local woodcarvers In the Chips, and cultural heritage booths highlighting German-American traditions, like the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and Minnesota Krampus. Additional vendors include Postal Squirrel, Wayne Hankel Woodcarving, Probstfield Farm, the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Concordia German Club, and Dick Skauge Old World Woodcarving. Festival admission also includes access to HCSCC’s current exhibitions, which include “Truth In Focus: A Retrospective from CHIII”; “War, Flu, & Fear: WWI and Clay County”; and “Narrative Geometry: The Art of Warli.”

If You Go

German Kulturfest

Hjemkomst Center, 202 1st Ave N, Moorhead, Minnesota 56560

Saturday, September 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Admission is $10 for teens and adults. HCSCC members and children 12 & under are admitted free of charge.

Overflow parking is available at the Moorhead Center Mall, where MATBUS/LinkFM will run shuttles to and from the Hjemkomst Center every 15 minutes.

Festival sponsors include Fargo Brewing Company, Lake Region Arts Council, The Arts Partnership, The Alex Stern Family Foundation, Moorhead Parks & Recreation, and MATBUS.

For festival details or information about accessibility and accommodations, please contact HCSCC Communications Manager Davin Wait at (218) 299-5511, ext. 6733, or davin.wait@hcsmuseum.org.