Toiletten-Lauf! (Outhouse Race)
Only at Historic Cedarburg’s German Festival
July 19 & 20, 2008

CLICK HERE FOR A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Ya! We’ve got der Outhouse Races at Cedarburg’s first ever German Festival. Historic Cedarburg will be bursting with gemuetlichkeit as Festivals of Cedarburg, Inc. presents German Festival, Saturday, July 19, 10 am–9 pm & Sunday, July 20, 11:30 am–6 pm in beautiful Cedar Creek Park, N52 W5882 Portland Road. Free admission and parking.

This new annual festival will offer delightful German foods from Klug’s Creekside Inn’ Bier Garten, including Rollbraten Sandwiches, Spaetzle with Jaeger Sauce and German Potato Salad. Homemade sausages from Hoffman’s Market, Cedarburg’s old-time butcher shop will be served in the Lion’s Club food booth. Guests will also find specialty beers such as Spaten Pilsner, Spaten Munich Lager, Dinkil Acker Dark and Franzinkaner & Dunkel Weiss, plus a variety of Cedar Creek Wines and handmade German Pretzels from Boulangerie du Monde of Cedarburg.

Ach, der music! More German music then you can shake a stick at and a wooden dance floor for polka fans. Featured bands include Pommersche Spaldeel Performance Group & Band, Tuba Dan, the Alte Kameraden Band, Polka Dotz, Blaskapelle Milwaukee, Familienmusi Mueller Hacker Trio and Zither. At Cedar Creek Settlement, located in the old 1864 Wittenberg Woolen Mill, live music will feature Gerhardt Schweinert & Dave Chyla on Saturday and Grant Kozera & Ferd Buchel on Sunday. And, if you’ve never seen a live Glockenspiel Show (Cuckoo Clock), this delightful, goofy event, sponsored by Port Washington State Bank, will make you laugh as it reappears every two hours, beginning at noon daily.

Silly contests with prize awards include Frau Tragen-Lauf (Wife Carrying), Bier Eimer-Lauf (Beer Bucket Races), a Sauerkraut Eating Contest and a German Spelling Bee from Ault to Zither (A-Z). There’s also a Best Lederhosen & Tracht attire (male & female) competition and a World-Class Outhouse Racing Contest (Toiletten-Lauf) with four “pushers” and one “sitter”.

You’ll find German-focused culture, like Spinning and Schnitzelbank demos and paper-cutting. Play in a Sheepshead (Schafskopf) Tournament, Sunday, 1:00-4:00 inside the Cedarburg Cultural Center. Entry is $5.00, prizes awarded, call the Cultural Center for information at 262-375-3676. Visit the Cultural Center’s Farmers Market and Craft Fair. Saturday, Creekside Books hosts Trudy Paradis, author of German Milwaukee – It’s History & Recipe. German imports will be available from Alpine German Gifts and German Glass Imports. Tour the historic Kuehfuss House (1849), Paul J. Yank, Cedarburg Brewery (1843) and Cedar Creek Winery in the Wittenberg Woolen Mill (1864) daily.

German Festival attendees will enjoy strolling Washington Avenue, absorbing the charm and historic ambiance of thriving Downtown Cedarburg, chock-full of unique retail shops and restaurants. Founded in the 1840’s, Cedarburg was declared a National Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city is home to more than 100 restored and intact buildings of historic significance.
Come help us celebrate the flavor of Germany! Cedarburg is 20 minutes north of Milwaukee, off I-43. For information, call the Visitor’s Center at 262-377-9620 or 800-237-2874, or www.ci.cedarburg.wi.us (City Departments; Parks & Recreation; German Festival).
***Please note, pets are not allowed in Cedar Creek Park and festival attendees are asked to support our German Festival by not bringing carry-ins. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for comfort.