Minden Fasching - The City of Minden, Louisiana

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Minden Fasching
Fifth Season Festival melds German heritage
with an early Mardi Gras
H
ere’s a recipe for you: take two cups German heritage,
a heaping tablespoon of anticipation for Mardi Gras, a
drizzle of Louisiana’s festival know-how, and a sprinkle of holiday
spirit. Stir to combine. What do you get? Minden’s very own Fasching
celebration, taking over the North Louisiana town on November 21.
Minden’s German roots are the real thing; in
1835, Minden itself was founded by GermanAmerican Charles Hans Veeder and named for
the home of his ancestors in Germany. Just a
year before Veeder’s arrival, a group of German
Utopians followed the mystic “Count Leon” to
the same area, settling a colony just seven miles
northeast of Minden. It’s against the backdrop of this
Teutonic history that Minden hosts its fifth annual
Fasching celebration, with title sponsor Republic
Services, Inc.
“Fasching” or the “Fifth Season” is the German
equivalent of Mardi Gras, only the party begins much
sooner. This year, Minden’s Fifth Season kicks off on
November 21, as the original brick paved streets of
historic downtown populate with German food, beer,
music, customs, and costumes.
Tours on offer include Minden historic landmarks,
museums, galleries, and the Germantown Colony
Museum, filled with artifacts, original and replica
buildings, and lore from the settlement established
by the German Utopians, whose descendants still
populate the area today. Visitors can hitch a bus ride
to the preserved colony or stay in town where the
Dorcheat Historical Museum offers yet another rich
glimpse into Minden’s past.
No German fest would be a German fest worth
its salt without a little oom-pah-pah. This year,
Tennessee band the “Oom-pah”sters will provide
the stein-swinging music, including the kick-off
chicken dance at 10 am on the main stage at Main
and Pearl streets. The band will play at intervals
throughout the day, alternating with local
bands who provide the musical backdrop to
arts & crafts vendors, face painters, clowns,
and a carnival featuring stilt walking, hula
hooping, and jugglers to boot.
Holiday decorations will also include more than
one hundred German nutcrackers in every shape
and size, and Minden’s seat on North Louisiana’s
Holiday Tour of Lights promises a twinkly setting
for the festivities. Plus, Weihnachtsmann himself
(you might know him as Ol’ Saint Nick) will be in
attendance, reminding revelers to mind their “Ps” and
“Qs.”
Offering both food and libations, the Beer Garden
at The Courtyard on Pearl Street opens at 11 am,
with German and domestic beers on offer. Local and
regional artists will showcase and sell their artistry all
along the sidewalks; and City Art Works will host an
exhibit by glass and sculpture artist Dale Farrington,
who will also be in attendance. The celebrations
conclude with a grand fireworks finale at dusk,
a fabulous accompaniment to Minden’s beloved
holiday lights.
What more incentive could anyone need for a
holiday road trip to what has become known as the
“Friendliest City in the South”? The festival will
carry on, rain or shine, with the fun moving inside the
Beer Garden if inclement weather arrives, so don
your lederhosen, your Santa hat, and even a string
of Mardi Gras beads and head to this inimitable
holiday extravaganza. k
ay, November 21st, 20
d
r
u
15
Sat
Main 2 Main
On November 6 and 7, thrifty shoppers who love to support locals will have a fifty-mile opportunity to do just that. From
Heflin, Louisiana, traveling north through Minden on Highway 371, to Springhill, Louisiana, on the Arkansas-Louisiana border,
hundreds of vendors will be selling everything from bows to baked goods in a giant “garage sale” that will likely exhaust wallets
before it exhausts Christmas lists. Join the hundreds of small-town entrepreneurs in this Main 2 Main event, a statewide initiative
to encourage visits to the quaint and curious small towns sprinkling the Louisiana countryside.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (318) 377-2144 OR VISIT WWW.MINDENFASCHING.COM.
The Title Sponsor for Fasching is Republic Services, Inc. The Festival is produced by community partners: Minden Main Street, Krewe des Ambassadeurs, Webster Parish Convention
and Visitor’s Bureau, The Minden-South Webster Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Germantown, Krewe of Akewa, Easley Studio’s Courtyard and many volunteers including The
Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program. It is produced with grants from Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation
and Tourism. Fasching entertainment sponsors are Spinner Entertainment, Regions Bank, Gibsland Bank, Citizens National Bank, LAFF-CO and Richland State Bank. Fireworks
sponsors include A.J. Price, Waller Petroleum, Elm Street Dental, KSA Corp, IMA Corp, Ron Hathorn and Harper Motors, Global Pressure Solutions and Fleming Subway Restaurants.
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Country Roads Magazine / April 2014
www. count r y r oa d sm a g. com
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