Staff Report
The booths are set up, kiddie rides ready to roll, the famous sausage prepared. All that’s left is to fire up the grill.
The Elberta German Sausage Festival, hosted by the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department, is once again ready to dish out pounds of sausage to locals Saturday in the Elberta Town Park, on the corner of Highway 98 and Main Street from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This week we have people marking the park, setting up tents, and getting everything coordinated,” Chief Steve Kirkpatrick said. “We start right after the first festival, preparing for the next.”
The festival has been held twice a year since 1972, always on the last Saturday in March and the last Saturday in October. According to the Volunteer Fire Department, the festival attracts more than 30,000 patrons for each festival.
“Last year, 34,000 to 35,000 people came out,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’re hoping for more this time.”
The festival usually sells out of sausage by 3 p.m., dishing out over 7,000 pounds of sausage and 22,000 sausage sandwiches. Consumers can also buy raw sausage to take home and cook later.
For those who don’t want sausage, other festival fair is offered. According to Kirkpatrick, over 250 vendors will be at the park Saturday, including 230 arts and crafts booths. WiFi and ATMS will also be available throughout the park.
The main purpose of the festival is to celebrate the town’s heritage and help out local not-for-profits, Kirkpatrick said.
“Of course, it’s a German town. The festival was started to help the volunteer fire department. It’s our main source of funding,” Kirkpatrick said. “It also supports a lot of local nonprofits.”
