Polka On at the Tomball German Heritage Festival

The Tomball German Heritage Festival just keeps getting bigger and better every year! The 13th edition of the festival will be held this weekend, March 22-24, in downtown Tomball. Polkabeat.com is proud to once again sponsor the appearance of Grammy-nominated Alex Meixner on the Ziegenbock Stage Friday and Saturday, beginning at 6 PM and Sunday, beginning at 1 PM. Stop by the Polka On! table next to the stage to purchase must-have polka items, sign up to receive my newsletter, bring me a bier, or just to say hello. You're invited to help us get the party started on Thursday at a special Acoustic Alex set at Cactus Music in Houston beginning at 5:30 PM. St. Arnold's will provide the beverages.

All five stages will be alive with great music. Check out the line-up featuring Das Ist Lustig, Chris Rybak, Eurofest, TubaMeisters and a whole stage devoted to Bluegrass music. You'll also want to catch some of the performances by high school German Clubs, including Clements High School in Sugar Land, who won first place at state for German folk dancing! Kingwood and Friendswood High School groups will also be performing, along with German polka bands from Reagan and The Woodlands College Park High Schools.

The festival also features 150 vendors selling everything, including great food and ice cold bier. The contests are also great to participate in and/or cheer on your favorites. New this year is the Big Squeeze Accordion Contest on Saturday at 10 AM and the Doggy Costume Parade and Contest at 12:45 PM on Sunday. Other contests: Chicken Dance, Yodeling and Best Dressed German. Find out more.

Polka On Tomball!

Polka News: Best of German Fest, CZ Sub, Have a Blue (Room) Christmas, Mollie B in Texas

Best of German Fest: The Tomball German Christmas Market is this weekend Friday-Sunday. Great place to do some unique Christmas shopping, have some German food and beer and of course POLKA! Three stages will feature all kinds of music genres: German and Czech, Cajun, Bluegrass, Country, Christmas just to name a few. Check out the performance schedule. Three contests this year: Best Dressed Christmas Character at 8:30 PM Friday, Chicken Dance Contest at 3:45 PM Saturday and Best Dressed German at 8:15 PM Sunday. CZ Sub: Garrett Neubauer will join the Czechaholics on accordion this Saturday at Lodge 88 subbing for Mark Hermes, who will be performing his other job as manager of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center. The Center is having its Christmas Open House during the day and its annual fundraising gala that night honoring the Rudy Kurtz, Frank Kubin and John Rejcek Orchestras. Music by David Slovak, Andy Mikula and Mike Marek.

Have a Blue (Room) Christmas: Have you bought your tickets yet to the Blue Room Party at SPJST Lodge 88 in Houston? It's quite possibly the best deal in town for a holiday celebration. For $25, you get a steak dinner, dance with music by the Ennis Czech Boys AND open bar. Don't let the name fool you. No sadness here! The name comes from when members and their guests could be served liquor in the Blue Room "lounge." And of course the Blue Room is next to the Red Room, which is the dining room. Give the lodge a call at 713-869-5767 to reserve your tickets. Deadline is December 10.

Mollie B in Texas: Yay! The Squeezebox Band will be in Texas in January, which is National Polka Month. Schedule so far is Thursday, January 17 at Riverside Club in Mission and Sunday, January 20 at the SPJST Lodge 88 in Houston. Still working on bookings for Friday and Saturday.