News and Updates
Changes and updates for 2024 (new!)
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
Houstonfest Scholarships
Scholarships at State
State Promo Video Contest
Tips for Pair Discussion
Arrival at Heights High School
Lunch options
Daily log of changes to
state-qualifier list
Photo Gallery
Important Dates
Mon. Jan. 8, 2024, 4:00 p.m.: Application for
transportation grants from Houston Saengerbund opens (teachers will be sent a
link to a Google Form).
Tue., Jan. 16, 2024, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration
spreadsheet due for regular price of $12/student (payment does not have
to be mailed until 1/22).
Mon., Jan. 22, 2024, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet
due
for late price of $15/student. Deadline to postmark Houstonfest payment.
Sat., Jan. 27, 2024, 9:00 a.m.:
Submission of entries in the 7 virtual Houstonfest events due (get link to
Google Form from your teacher).
Tue., Jan. 30, 2024, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
judging of the 7 virtual Houstonfest events ends.
Wed., Jan. 31, 2024, 9:00 p.m.:
Houstonfest changes (adds,
drops, substitutions) due. After this point, no more changes will be allowed.
Sat., Feb. 3, 2024:
Houstonfest,
Heights High School, Houston.
Fri., Feb. 9, 2024, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due for "early bird" price of $12/student (payment does not
have to be mailed until 2/14).
Wed., Feb. 14, 2024, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due
for
regular price of
$15/student. Deadline to postmark State payment.
Sat., Feb. 17, 2024, 9:00 a.m.:
Submission of entries in the 7 virtual State events due (get link to
Google Form from your teacher). Also,
Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship
applications due.
Mon., Feb. 19, 2024, 8:00 p.m.:
Entries in
promotional video contest
due to State director.
Tue., Feb. 20, 2024, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
judging of the 7 virtual State events ends.
Sat., Feb. 24, 2024:
Texas State German Contest, Texas State
University, San Marcos.
Sat., Mar. 2, 2024, 11:59 p.m.:
Houstonfest Scholarship applications due.
Sun., Mar. 10, 2024:
Gail Cope
State Scholarship applications due.
rolling basis:
submit
Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications.
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Houstonfest
Founded in 1980, Houstonfest
is an annual competition for Houston-area students in grades 8
through 12 (and some in grade 7) who are learning German. It offers 42 contests for
students in German I, II, III, IV, and V, including written and oral
tests, declamation, drama, art, and music. Because some contests have
multiple levels, there are actually 88 different competitions! These
include some competitions exclusively for "advantaged speakers"
and some that are conducted
virtually through online submission. Registration is accepted only from German
teachers registering their participating students as a group; we do not
accept registration from individual students.
For the last pre-pandemic contest
(2020)
we had 562 students registered
from 21 schools. In the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, our all-online
editions of Houstonfest
drew 166 students from 12 schools and 371 students
from 19 schools respectively. We returned to an in-person
contest in 2023 and had 450 students from 17 schools
registered. Teachers and others from the local German-speaking community
serve as judges; we had at least 124 teachers and
volunteers serving as judges and proctors in 2023. If you are interested
in serving as a judge, contact director
Rustin Buck by email and he'll
send you a link to a Google Form to sign up.
Entrants placing in the top five in each
event at Houstonfest, traditionally held on the first Saturday of
February (which will be February 3 in 2024), advance to the
Texas
State German Contest, traditionally held on the last Saturday of
February (which will be February 24 in 2024). 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.
Houstonfest
is held at Heights High School in Houston and State at Texas State
University in San Marcos.
After competition is over and while everyone is waiting for
the awards to be tabulated, we usually have
entertainment by the band
Das ist lustig and
local professional German folk dancers.
The
Tomball German
Festival also traditionally invites winning 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.
For more information:
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.

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The logo in the header is the
winning entry from the
Digital Logo Design
contest held at Houstonfest 2023.
It is by Andrea Duarte Gonzalez of
Kingwood High School.
Danke schön
to these businesses who donated items for the
judges' breakfast in 2023. 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!)
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When is the next Houstonfest?
Saturday,
February 3, 2024 Where
is Houstonfest?
Heights High School
413 E. 13th Street, Houston, TX
77008
Link to Texas State German Contest
Texas
State German Contest on Facebook
Texas
State German Contest 40th Anniversary Facebook Group |