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.

Houstonfest Registration

February 5, 2022

Registration for 2022 is now closed.

• To register, simply fill out this registration form (Excel spreadsheet):  click on the link, save the spreadsheet to your computer, fill it out, save it again, and then e-mail it as an attachment to rustinbuck@comcast.net.

• PLEASE USE Lastname, Firstname FORMAT FOR ENTERING STUDENT NAMES.  If you do not have access to a computer on which Excel is installed, let the director know.  Here is a sample form if you have any questions about how to fill out the registration form (it's a sample of the pre-pandemic form rather than the unique 2021 form, but the concept is the same).

• The only thing you need to send by regular mail is your payment check.  You may wish to enclose a print-out of the first page of the registration form, but there is no need to enclose all the pages.

• Send the regular fee of $10 per student if your registration form is e-mailed by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, January 15, 2022.  (But your payment check doesn't have to be in the mail by then -- see two bullets down.)

• Send the late fee of $12 per student if your registration form is e-mailed during the period from Sunday, January 16, to Monday, January 24, 2022.  Late registration will not be accepted after 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 24, 2022.

• Regardless of whether you submit your e-mail registration by the regular or the late deadline, your payment check should be postmarked by Monday, January 24, 2022.

• Teachers must collect and submit this Consent and Release of Liability form for each student who participates in a regional contest.  The forms of all students participating from each school must be scanned or otherwise consolidated into ONE document (preferably PDF) and submitted to the regional contest director before the date of the regional contest using this Google Form.  The same document can later be submitted to the State director for the State contest.

• If you need an invoice, email director Rustin Buck to request one.

• Make your check payable to "Houstonfest" or "Texas State German Contests, Inc. dba Houstonfest," depending on how your school district has us set up in its vendor system.  For a personal check, "Houstonfest" is sufficient.

• Mail payment to:

Houstonfest

2507 Slippery Rock Dr.

Sugar Land, TX  77498-1909

• Incentives for new schools to participate:  We will waive the registration fee for up to 5 students from any school that has not attended Houstonfest in the last 5 years, and these schools will pay the regular price of $10 for any students beyond the first 5, even if they enter during the "late" registration period.  In non-pandemic years, teachers who are brand new to Houstonfest may also request to be excused from judging for the first year so that they can move freely around the contest and see how things work, but that is not relevant in 2022.  Contact director Rustin Buck to take advantage of these offers; the registration spreadsheet is not set up to reflect them.

• No registration fees will be refunded for any reason.

• Upon receiving your registration form, the director will make every effort to send you a confirmation e-mail within 24 hours.  If you don't receive a confirmation e-mail within 48 hours, please contact the director.

• If you have additions, deletions, or other changes to your roster of participants, make the changes in the registration spreadsheet that you originally submitted and email the updated spreadsheet to rustinbuck@comcast.net.  It is OK if you end up sending the spreadsheet multiple times.  The director will just keep deleting the previous one you sent and substituting the new one.

• Rationale for registration via Excel spreadsheet:  Having everyone use an identical spreadsheet format for submitting the student names allows the director to use the information more efficiently (totaling up participant numbers, making participant lists for the judges, etc.).