Houstonfest - Schedule

News and Updates

Contest promo video #1 (students from one school tell why they love contest)

Contest promo video #2 (one student tells why she loves contest)

Contest promo video #3 (hilarious 2024 State-winning submission from our own Klein Oak High School!)

Contest promo video #4 (2025 State-winning submission from Cedar Ridge High School)

Important Dates

Mon., Jan. 12, 2026, 4:00 p.m.: Application for transportation grants from the Houston Saengerbund opens; link will be sent to teachers.

Fri., Jan. 16, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: Application for transportation grants from the Houston Saengerbund closes.

Wed., Jan. 21, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet due for regular price of $15/student (payment does not have to be mailed until 1/28).

Wed., Jan. 28, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet due for late price of $20/student. Deadline to postmark Houstonfest payment.

Sat., Jan. 31, 2026, 9:00 a.m.: Submission of entries in the 7 virtual Houstonfest events due (get the link to the Google Form from your teacher - it was sent to teachers on Tue., Jan. 27).

Tue., Feb. 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: Remote judging of the 7 virtual Houstonfest events ends.

Wed., Feb. 4, 2026, 10:00 p.m.: Houstonfest changes (adds, drops, substitutions) due. After this point, no more changes will be allowed.

Sat., Feb. 7, 2026: Houstonfest, Kingwood High School, Houston.

Fri., Feb. 13, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: State online registration due for "early bird" price of $15/student (payment does not have to be mailed until 2/21).

Wed., Feb. 18, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: State online registration due for regular price of $20/student (payment does not have to be mailed until 2/21).

Sat., Feb. 21, 2026, 9:00 a.m.: Submission of entries in the 7 virtual State events due (get the link to a Google Form from your teacher). Also, Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship and Sandra Dieckman GTHS Memorial Scholarship applications due (to submit the application, get the link to a Google Form from your teacher). Deadline to postmark your State payment.

Mon., Feb. 23, 2026, 8:00 p.m.: Entries in State promotional video contest due to State director.

Tue., Feb. 24, 2025, 11:59 p.m.: Remote judging of the 7 virtual State events ends.

Sat., Feb. 28, 2026: Texas State German Contest, Texas State University, San Marcos.

Sat., Mar. 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.: Houstonfest Scholarship applications due.

Sun., Mar. 15, 2026: Gail Cope State Scholarship applications due.

between Thu., Jan. 1 and Thu., Apr. 30, 2026: submit Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications.

Schedule

Printer-friendly schedule - Word

Printer-friendly schedule - PDF

Arrival instructions

Campus map

(will be posted a few days before contest)

Judging assignments - PDF

Instructions for judges of virtual events

Instructions for judges of in-person events

(other than Pass auf! and proctors of written tests)

General Schedule 2026
7:30-8:00 a.m.	Judges who are not teachers check in and pick up judging packets just inside the entrance and then proceed to Room 2310 to wait for the judge orientation meeting to begin while enjoying a complimentary breakfast of donuts, kolaches, fruit, coffee, juice, soda, water, and more.
7:45-8:15 a.m.	Teachers check in and pick up judging packets just inside the entrance and then proceed to Room 2310 for breakfast and the judge meeting.
8:15-8:45 a.m.	Important judges' meeting in Room 2310.
8:00-9:00 a.m.	Students should set up their art entries in the designated rooms and sign up for times to compete in these events: classical ensemble, contemporary music, directed dialogue, duet acting, extemporaneous speaking, pair discussion, poetry memory, polka band, prose memory, scavenger hunt, sight reading, and vocal solo. The sign-up lists will be posted next to the doors of the rooms.
9:00 a.m.	Competition begins. The first of two sessions for Timed Writing begins. Judging of art events begins. Once you have set up your art entries in the proper rooms, please leave the art area. The art rooms are off-limits to everyone but the judges as long as judging is taking place.
9:30 a.m.	Training for written-test proctors begins in Room 4206. The second of two sessions for Timed Writing begins.
10:00-11:30 a.m.	Advantaged Speaker Test: All contestants MUST arrive by 10:00; this is the only opportunity of the day to take the test, and there is no late admission.
10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.	Written testing: 9 sessions beginning at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00. You do NOT have to sign up for a time.
12:00 noon (?) - 2:00 p.m.	The three art rooms (2208, 2209, 2210) are open to all for browsing (look but don't touch!!!) from the time that the last judges finish judging through 2:00.
12:30-1:00 p.m.	Most contests end. Folk Dance ends at 1:45, Novice Pass auf! at 12:30, and Varsity Pass auf! and the written tests at 2:30.
	Lunch at our on-campus vendors.
1:00-1:30 p.m.	Meet-and-greet with German professors from the University of Houston in Room 2106. Drop by and find out what the UH German program has to offer!
1:30-2:00 p.m.	First opportunity to retrieve art entries (not earlier, not later). The doors to the art rooms will be locked from 2:00 until the end of the awards ceremony. Gather in the auditorium.
2:00 p.m.	Entertainment by the band Das ist lustig and folk dancers in the auditorium.
~4:00 p.m.	Announcement of awards in the auditorium.
~5:00 p.m.	Second opportunity to retrieve art entries: Immediately after the awards ceremony, the doors to the art rooms will be unlocked to allow students to retrieve their art entries as they depart.

Judging Assignments
Event	Room	Judges
virtual: Digital Logo Design	online	Dusty Brown, Andrea Duarte Gonzalez, Yvonne Thomas
virtual: Oral Presentation 4	online	Diana Bangert, Saskia Mehlhorn, Julia Wespe
virtual: Oral Presentation Advant.	online	Saskia Banks, Barbara Lott, Martina Luke-Dorn
virtual: Photo Essay	online	Nicola Burdick, Sarai Macedo, Anita Schiller
virtual: Poetry Reading 1	online	Miranda James, Heidi Kirby, Maike Nawroth
virtual: Poetry Reading 2	online	Leslie Friedrich, Manuela Hammer, George Rissky
virtual: Poetry Reading 3	online	Taleed Atieh, Philipp Kaiser, Miriam Lacayo
virtual: Poetry Reading 4	online	Franz Ehrhardt, Friedhelm Luening*, Alexandra Wirth
virtual: Prose Reading 1	online	Sebastian Gobel, Charlie Rissky, Alexia Uhlendorf
virtual: Prose Reading 2	online	Pamela Cramer, Juliane Henneberger, Heidi Keschenat
virtual: Prose Reading 3	online	Luisa Böttner, Elke Crow, Lars Grabow
virtual: Prose Reading 4	online	Silke Bugge, Stefanie Harris, Braden Ross
virtual: Research Paper	online	Jule Boehm, Sylvia Ehret*, Alex Loddoch
virtual: Video Show	online	Josephine Drewes, Tara McMartin, Nora Neu
virtual: alternate judge	online	Fatima Baig; * = alternate judge who was assigned
Advantaged Speaker Test	4109	Jennifer Martin
Classical Ensemble, Polka Band	4113	Brian Berlin, Robert Herridge
Club Album	2208	Patrick McFadden, Veronika Reznichenko
Contemporary Music	4416	Tanya Bandmann, Jens Schmieder
Crafts	2210	Sailor MacTavish, Laura Rissky
Culture	4302	Bryan Galloway, Lisa Kelley
Directed Dialogue 1	2113	Kathrin Correll, Michael Rossow
Directed Dialogue 2	2112	Frank Kraatz, Alexander Stroeer, Claudia Werner
Doll Costume	2210	Josephine Griffith, Diane Sullivan
Duet Acting Lower	2305	Anja Drewes Neidhardt, Robert Goldmann
Duet Acting Upper	2304	Sylvia Ehret, Alison Wimmer
Extemp. Speaking facilitator	2104	Karin Klinger, Aurea Portillo
Extemp. Speaking 3	2105	Markus Hatzelmann, Sabine McCain
Extemp. Speaking 4	2103	Gerhard Ade, Hildegard Glass
Extemp. Speaking Advantaged	2102	Nora Neu, Justus Völpel
Folk Dance - Einzeltanz and Team	4310	Piper Brown, Zachary Brown, Jacob Desporte, Brayden Montgomery, Kaity Nelson, Erich Wolz
Folk Dance - Team only	4310	Josephine Griffith (after Doll Costume)
Folk Dance monitor	4310	Dylan White 9:00-11:00, Arianna Alvarez 11:00-end
Gingerbread House (Non-Trad.)	2210	Tim Corman, Anushka Desai
Gingerbread House (Traditional)	2210	Teresa Flores, Hannah Henry
Grammar	4303	Connie Galloway, Natalie Wilkes
Listening Comprehension	4206	Kylie Day, Chloe Wellman
Needlework	2210	Arianna Alvarez, Siobhan Madden
Original Models	2210	Bernard Gordon, Günter Sundag
Pair Discussion	2111	Burhanuddin Calcuttawala, Manuela Sieber
Pass auf! (Novice)	2408	Taleed Atieh, Brandon Collins, Cade Ellis
Pass auf! (Varsity)	2407	Lauren Davis, Sarah Smith
Photography	2209	Friedhelm Luening, Markus Wimmer
Poetry Memory 1, 2	2204	Robert Gervais, Stephanie Sladek
Poetry Memory 3, 4	2205	Chuck Bearden, Sabina Entzian
Poetry Memory Advantaged, Prose Memory Advantaged	2203	Heidi Hoth, Steve Wynne
Poster Design	2209	Bettina Albermann, Andrea Duarte Gonzalez
Prose Memory 1, 2	2207	Christean Kapp, Stanley Stifflemire
Prose Memory 3, 4	2307	Svenja Karad, Brigitte Therivel
Puppet Show Lower, Upper	2306	Martin Karad, Karen Schmidt
Reading Comprehension	4304	Norma Perez Duran, Colby Williams
Scavenger Hunt	2409	Seth Hulse, Alexander Ricks
Scavenger Hunt monitor	secret!	Eric/Terry Heckart, Fatimata Lam, Josephine Madden, Colin Hoth-Humphries
Shirt Design	2208	Jamie Overstreet, Ann Marie Schrock
Sight Reading 1	2109	Ute Hoefel, Lisa Parrott
Sight Reading 2	2110	Karen Frye, Alex Loddoch
Sight Reading 3	2108	Ursula Fritz, Michael Wiechert
Sight Reading 4	2107	Erhard Linnes, Juergen Mueller
Skit 1, 2	4210	Brenda Bauske, Judy Herman
Skit 3, 4	2206	Fatima Baig, Mark Johnson, Hans Juergen Zachrau
Spelling	4207	Jennifer Williams
Spelling grader	4207	Joellyn Brugger, Kirsten Mays
Timed Writing	4205	Valentina Slaveva, Christina Tower
Vocabulary	4305	John Davis, Deirdre Rozowski
Vocal Solo	4413	Suzi Byrd, Valina Witte
Reserve judge/volunteer	Jens Schmieder (assigned to Contemporary Music), one judge from any in-person event that has 3 judges (DD2, Skit 3/4), 1 or 2 people from Gingerbread and combine Non-Traditional and Traditional under 1 judge team. Reserve judges and volunteers WILL BE ASSIGNED! For judges, you will either replace someone who drops out before the day of competition or someone who doesn't show up on that day, or if everyone shows up, you will have your pick of events to be added to as a third judge.

Director (Tabulation: Library)		Rustin Buck
Host		David Kniess
Assistant to director		Henry Innes
Check-in assistant		Susan Dworaczyk, Beverly Randall
Written testing coordinator (Library)		Beverly Randall
Written testing assistant (Library)		Susan Dworaczyk, Heinz Schmidt, KPHS runners
Breakfast, refreshment cart, proctor/tab lunch		Emily Tidey (captain), Kristin Lambert Herbst, Courtney McGrew, Fred McCrew, Roger Tidey, Doris Willcox
Parking lot (7:00-9:00)		KHS students
Art room monitor (~12:00-2:00)		Anushka Desai (after Ging. H.), Teresa Flores (after Ging. H.), Veronica Nelson, Dylan White (after Folk Dance monitoring)
Tabulation (data entry)		Sandy Harvey, Yvonne Thomas
Tabulation (intake and bagging)		Jamie Overstreet (after Shirt), Stephen Patton, Veronika Reznichenko (after Club Album), Laura Rissky (after Crafts), Piper Williamson
Awards set-up and distribution		Rustin Buck, David Kniess, KHS students/parents, adult folk dancers
Special assignment		Christine Womack

Room Finder (This list is a bit more user-friendly than the list above if you are looking for a room number.)
Advantaged Speaker Test	4109	Poetry Memory 4	2205
Classical Ensemble	4113	Poetry Memory Advant.	2203
Club Album	2208	Polka Band	4113
Contemporary Music	4416	Poster Design	2209
Crafts	2210	Prose Memory 1	2207
Culture	4302	Prose Memory 2	2207
Directed Dialogue 1	2113	Prose Memory 3	2307
Directed Dialogue 2	2112	Prose Memory 4	2307
Doll Costume	2210	Prose Memory Advant.	2203
Duet Acting Lower	2305	Puppet Show Lower	2306
Duet Acting Upper	2304	Puppet Show Upper	2306
Ext. Speaking - get topic	2104	Reading Comprehension	4304
Ext. Speaking 3 - judging	2105	Scantron Room	Library (upstairs)
Ext. Speaking 4 - judging	2103	Scavenger Hunt	2409
Ext. Speaking Adv. - judging	2102	Shirt Design	2208
Folk Dance (Einzeltanz) Folk Dance (Team)	4310	Sight Reading 1	2109
Gingerbread House (Non-Trad.)	2210	Sight Reading 2	2110
Gingerbread House (Trad.)	2210	Sight Reading 3	2108
Grammar	4303	Sight Reading 4	2107
Listening Comprehension	4206	Skit 1	4210
Needlework	2210	Skit 2	4210
Original Models	2210	Skit 3	2206
Pair Discussion	2111	Skit 4	2206
Pass auf! (Novice)	2408	Spelling	4207
Pass auf! (Varsity)	2407	Tabulation Room	Library (upstairs)
Photography	2209	Timed Writing	4205
Poetry Memory 1	2204	UH professors 1:00-1:30	2106
Poetry Memory 2	2204	Vocabulary	4305
Poetry Memory 3	2205	Vocal Solo	4413

Advantaged Speaker Test Schedule	only at 10:00 (lasting until 11:30)
Listening Comprehension Schedule	Lower Level (1 & 2): 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 Upper Level (3 & 4): 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00
Spelling Schedule	Lower Level (1 & 2): 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00 Upper Level (3 & 4): 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30
Timed Writing Schedule	Levels 1 & 2: only at 9:00 and 9:30
Culture, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary	all levels of each test given at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00

Group Schedule 2026
Lower Puppets, Rm. 2306		Skit 2, Rm. 4210		Einzeltanz, Rm. 4310
9:00	Kingwood	11:10	Kingwood	9:00	Kingwood (SC/EP)
9:20	Grand Oaks	11:25	Heights	9:10	Kingwood (EA/ZH)
9:40	Tompkins	11:40	Bellaire	9:20	Bellaire (AG/AL)
10:00	Clements	12:05	Tompkins	9:35	Jordan (EJ/SM)
		12:20	Jordan	9:45	Jordan (EK/LN)
Upper Puppets, Rm. 2306		12:35	Clements	9:55	Tompkins (AB/HS)
10:40	Kingwood	Skit 3, Rm. 2206		10:05	Brazoswood (ME/EL)
11:00	Clements	9:00	Grand Oaks	10:20	Tomball Memorial (JM/SS)
11:20	Grand Oaks	9:20	Heights	10:30	Brazoswood (AT/MW)
11:40	Travis	9:40	Tompkins	10:40	Tomball Memorial (VK/CM)
12:00	Tomball Memorial	10:05	Kingwood	10:50	Tompkins (KC/AFN)
12:20	Bellaire	10:25	Bellaire	Folk Dance, Rm. 4310
		Skit 4, Rm. 2206		11:15	Kingwood
Skit 1, Rm. 4210		10:55	Kingwood	11:40	Jordan
9:00	Kingwood	11:15	Bellaire	12:05	Brazoswood
9:15	Pin Oak MS	11:35	Grand Oaks	12:30	Tompkins
9:30	Grand Oaks	12:00	Tompkins	12:55	The Woodlands
9:50	Jordan	12:20	Clements	1:20	Tomball Memorial
10:05	Tompkins	12:40	Heights	Novice Pass auf! schedule Varsity Pass auf! schedule
10:20	Bellaire			Novice Pass auf! schedule Varsity Pass auf! schedule
Note: Students will choose their own times for the other group events: classical ensemble, contemporary music, duet acting, pair discussion, polka band, and scavenger hunt.

Note:

Students in all drama events and folk dance MUST do everything possible to adhere to the scheduled performance times. They should, in fact, arrive 10 minutes BEFORE their scheduled time to get all props, etc. ready, so that when the previous group finishes, they can march right in and get on with the show. The students should structure the entire rest of their day around their scheduled drama times.

If a cast member is involved in a Pass auf! game when the drama event is scheduled to start, they should leave the Pass auf! game and go to the drama event. Pass auf! teams can continue to compete with fewer than five members if necessary.

When is the next Houstonfest?

Saturday,

February 6, 2027

Where is Houstonfest?

99% certain:

Heights High School

413 E. 13th St.

Houston, TX 77008

Link to Texas State German Contest

Texas State German Contest on Facebook

Texas State German Contest 40th Anniversary Facebook Group

This website houstonfest.org has been in operation since 2007 (contest itself founded in 1980).