A Quick Look at the Tomball German Festival

Texas is really big on festivals to celebrate the many heritages/cultures that help make the state a great place to live or visit! Not far from where I live, we have a wonderful celebration of the area’s German heritage – twice each year in March and December. My husband and I, and our daughter and her family, look forward to going every year – and so we did, in December, for the Tomball German Christmas Market and Festival. Can’t wait to go again in March for the spring event, and I’m hoping that if you read this and are in our area, you’ll join us there. Look for us! We will probably be in the company of two very friendly dogs. This festival is pet-friendly – lots of folks bring their dogs – and my daughter is no exception. She brings her two dogs every year, and we think the dogs remember and look forward to fun times!

So many great things to do that day – hard to choose what and when! We decided to walk around and enjoy some typical “festival food” – not exactly German but yummy anyway. My daughter opted for a Texas-size stein of German beer. My husband had an authentic German pretzel, and I shared a funnel cake with the family.

German music was a big part of the street fest, too. The Biergarten was nicely done this past December with lots of seating and place for dancing to the live German music. I couldn’t get my husband to join in the dancing – next time for sure!

The festival is fun for all and definitely a family affair. Parking was located close by and everything was accessible – that makes for a good festival and good times for everyone. Food was abundant – we could try Shreuben sandwiches (a combination of schnitzel and a Reuben on a roll with sauerkraut), the usual street food – corn dogs, assorted fries, pickles, hot pretzels, funnel cakes, different hot sandwiches, barbecue, kolaches, and lots more. There were more sweets, too, although we were satisfied with the funnel cake! One really tasty and unusual version of fried potatoes is served – the potatoes are sliced super thin (across the potato) then stacked and fried together on a stick. It’s a bit hard to describe and I wasn’t able to get a decent photo – I will get one at the March festival and add it! The potatoes are rather crispy, almost like a potato chip (crisp), but there is a bit more “chewiness” – and of course there is ketchup for dipping. Definitely delicious if you are a fan of fries!

A big part of any street fair is shopping! We didn’t buy much, but we looked at everything! The outdoor market was on the main walk with the food stalls, and also inside a structure for shelter from the weather – which was quite fine, this time. We saw lovely jewelry, special clothing, including typical German items, more sweets, too much to list. One thing I found super interesting was the jewelry made from amber – these earrings were almost mine, but I decided to postpone buying – and never got back to get them. Oh well, next time for sure! You can see them here:

The inside area was a shopper’s mecca – so many things to look at and perhaps take home. We considered beautiful glass Christmas ornaments, confections, clothing, jewelry, and assorted other interesting items, all while listening to music played on accordion.

This lovely young lady played music for us while we shopped!

Once we’d finished spending a bit of cash in the inside market, we passed the last of our time in the street market, window-shopping and picking up a few last-minute items for gifts!

Before we left, we spent a few minutes watching this great juggler who walked the streets entertaining the visitors. Here’s just a glimpse of what we saw!

I love the Tomball German Market and plan to go to the Spring Market, which in 2020 will be held on Main Street in Tomball, Texas, from Friday, March 27, through Sunday, March 29. If you’re in the area, try to make time to visit this great street festival. You won’t be sorry! And this year, the Christmas Market will be back from Friday, December 11, through Sunday, December 13.

Do you go to street fairs and cultural festivals? Tell us about your visits in the comments! What is your favorite thing to do? Shop? Eat? Try different foods? Listen to music?

Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog newsletter to get notice of new updates to the blog, contests, freebies, and lots more! You can find the subscription box in the sidebar.