NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Wurstfest is six months away and construction continues on the festival grounds in New Braunfels after last year's destructive fire.
Byrne Construction Services crews are hard at work preparing an area for the new Marktplatz, designs for which were unveiled in February. The roof on Wursthalle is also receiving care.
Progress can be seen from the street. Heavy machinery whirrs about the grounds while the beams of Wursthalle are exposed to the air.
On Tuesday crews are scheduled to pour concrete for the Marktplatz foundation. The food booth area was also destroyed during the November fire.
Renderings by Marmon Mok Architecture show what the new Marktplatz will look like, complete with a Germanic village feel.
The Wursthalle roof is being repaired, cleaned and painted. Passersby will see the iconic Wurstfest lettering back up near the end of the month.
While much of New Braunfels came to a standstill for weeks during the coronavirus crisis, the rebuild process was able to move forward on the Wurstfest grounds.
“We've not had any difficulty because of the virus and the restrictions,” said Wurstfest Executive Director Suzanne Herbelin. “We're in the process of trying to obtain a significant amount of materials and have not encountered any difficulty yet.”
The Wurstfest Association, their rebuild committee and the nonprofit vendors are all working together to move forward from the fire.
“The festival is a tremendous economic boost,” Herbelin said. “it also provides an opportunity for about 18 to 20 nonprofit organizations to come in and raise money.”
The surveyors, engineers, architects and work crews are using their talents to help bring back Wurstfest better than ever in what is a landmark year.
“We're looking forward to …celebrating not only our 60th year of the festival, but our 175th year of New Braunfels,” Herbelin said.
The Salute to Sausage is scheduled to kick off Nov. 6.
Wayne Classen has been appointed as the 2020 Grosse Opa, or Big Daddy, of Wurstfest.
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