News and Updates
Houstonfest Scholarships -
winners announced!
Changes and updates for 2022 including procedures for
online contest
State Promo Video Contest
"Texas State German Contest at 40" newsletter
series (full of tips for contest prep and Pass auf!
study material)
"Leidenschaft der Aussprache" Pronunciation Contest
Scholarships at State
Contest
Promo Video #1 (students from one school tell why they
love contest)
Contest Promo
Video #2 (one student tells why she loves contest)
Teacher-to-Teacher Tips
Tips for Pair Discussion
Photo Gallery
Arrival at Heights High School
Lunch options
Daily log of changes to
state-qualifier list
Important Dates
Sat., Jan. 15, 2022, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration
spreadsheet due for regular price of $10/student (payment does not have
to be mailed until 1/24).
Tue., Jan. 18, 2022, 4:00 p.m.: Registration
opens for
pronunciation contest "Leidenschaft der Aussprache" (teachers who submit a
Houstonfest registration by the regular deadline will receive a link to register
for this special contest)
Mon., Jan. 24, 2022, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet
due
for late price of $12/student. Deadline to postmark Houstonfest payment.
Wed., Feb. 2, 2022, 8:00 p.m.:
Houstonfest changes (adds,
drops, substitutions) due. After this point, no more changes will be allowed.
Sat., Feb. 5, 2022: Houstonfest
(virtual) - submissions of art and recordings due by 9:00
a.m., some
events conducted live via Zoom
Tue., Feb. 8, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
Houstonfest judging ends
Fri., Feb. 11, 2022, 4:45 p.m.: Houstonfest
results announced via live-stream (see Results page for a
recording of the awards show)
Wed., Feb. 16, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due for "early bird" price of $10/student (payment does not
have to be mailed until 2/18).
Fri., Feb. 18, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: State online registration due
for
regular price of
$12/student. Also,
Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship
applications due. Deadline to postmark State payment.
Wed., Feb. 23, 2022, 8:00 p.m.:
Deadline extended: Entries in
promotional video contest
due to State director Jennifer Christianson.
Sat., Feb. 26, 2022:
40th
Annual Texas State German Contest
(virtual) -submissions of art and recordings due by 9:00 a.m., some
events conducted live via Zoom (ask your teacher for the sheet with all the
links!)
Tue., Mar. 1, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: Remote State
judging ends
Sat., Mar. 5, 2022, 11:59 p.m.:
Houstonfest Scholarship applications due. State awards video released.
Fri., Mar. 11, 2022:
Gail Cope
Scholarship applications due.
Sat., April 30, 2022:
Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications due.
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Houstonfest
Founded in 1980, Houstonfest
is an annual competition for Houston-area students in grades 8
through 12 who are learning German. It offers 43 contests for
students in German I, II, III, IV, and V, including written and oral
tests, declamation, drama, art, and music. There are also
categories for "advantaged speakers."
Registration is accepted only from German
teachers registering their participating students as a group; we do not
accept registration from individual students. For the pre-pandemic 2020 contest
we had 562 students registered
from 21 schools. In the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, our all-online version of Houstonfest
drew 166 students from 12 schools and 371 students
from 19 schools respectively.
Unfortunately, because the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the decision was
made on January 4, 2022, that this year's regional contests as well as
the State contest will also have to take place entirely online. On
the positive side, more events will be offered in the online format in
2022 than in 2021. Click on "Changes and updates for 2022" in the column
to the left for details about the 2022 contest. Teachers and others from the local
German-speaking community serve as judges; we had 117 teachers and
volunteers serve as judges and proctors in 2022! If you are interested
in serving as a judge, contact director
Rustin Buck by email and he'll add you to his email list.
Entrants placing in the top five in each
event at Houstonfest, traditionally held on the first Saturday of
February (which was February 5 in 2022), advance to the
Texas
State German Contest, traditionally held on the last Saturday of
February (which was February 26 in 2022 - 40th anniversary!). At State, Houstonfest's
winners compete against the winners of the other two Texas regional German competitions,
Winterfest
for the Dallas and North Texas area and
Sprachfest for
the Central and South Texas area.
In
non-pandemic years, Houstonfest
is held at Heights High School in Houston and State at Texas State
University in San Marcos.
Brochure about Texas German contest system
Contest Promo Video #1
(students from one school tell why they love contest)
Contest
Promo Video #2
(one student tells why she loves contest)
Incentives
for schools new to Houstonfest
Show your love for the Texas German contest
system by producing a promotional video and entering our contest.
You could win $250!
Click here for the contest guidelines.
When we have contest in person: after competition is over and while everyone is waiting for
the awards to be tabulated, we have
entertainment by the band
Das ist lustig and members of the folk dance group Keine Kunst.
The
Tomball German
Festival also traditionally invites winning Chorus, Folk Dance, and Polka
Band groups as well as Vocal Soloists to perform at their festival each
year and makes donations to the German Clubs of all schools that
perform.

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The logo in the header is the
winning entry from the
Digital Logo Design
contest held at Houstonfest 2021. It is by Nikita
Naredla and Mitali Solanki of Clements High School.
Danke schön
to these businesses who donated or gave us discounts on items for the
judges' breakfast in 2020. Every dollar saved on that can instead be invested in
the contest and in scholarships!
Starbucks
SW Freeway @ Wilcrest
(donated ALL the coffee!)

Sprouts
Sugar Land
(donated ALL the fruit!)

Kolache Factory
Missouri City
(discount on kolache order)

Shipley Donuts
(discount on donut order)

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When is the next Houstonfest?
Saturday,
February 4, 2023 Where
is Houstonfest?
Heights High School in Houston
Link to Texas State German Contest
Texas
State German Contest on Facebook
Texas
State German Contest 40th Anniversary Facebook Group |