Hohenfels student Tony Mower, 15, signals his enthusiasm for The Twister, a popular carnival ride at the 10-day German American Volksfest being held at the base this week. (Ben Murray / Stars and Stripes)
HOHENFELS, Germany — To get a good idea just how big Hohenfels’ German-American Volksfest is this year, just measure the height of its Ferris wheel.
Rising incongruously out of the Bavarian forest on the edge of the garrison, the towering, 130-foot-tall Goldenwheel is proportional to the extent of the activities of the annual spring fling.
Spread over 10 days and several acres of the base, the festival already has drawn thousands of German and American visitors since opening Friday, said Glenn Pietras, Hohenfels’ Morale, Welfare and Recreation director.
“I’d say we had at least 10,000 come through yesterday,” Pietras said Monday.
And there are more events to come, he said.
The festival offers everything from live music and fireworks to tours of the Army’s training area, also known as The Box. The event kicked off last week with military vehicle displays, live German music and the annual Box Run through parts of the training zone.
Buoyed by sunny skies and high temperatures over the weekend, crowds swelled at the carnival grounds.
“The line never stopped,” said hot dog vendor Randy Ziglar, who twice ran out of buns over the weekend.
The MWR ice cream stand also reported brisk sales.
“If the weather’s good, expect the crowds to come out and just raid the ice cream booth,” said volunteer scooper Connie Cavanaugh.
New this year to the Volksfest are the tours through the training area, which have been popular with local Germans, some of whose relatives once lived there, Pietras said.
But the heart of the celebration is the central promenade, a traditional summer carnival area complete with the requisite smorgasbord of bumper cars, cotton candy, pony rides and fried dough. Ride attendants with tattooed hands and cigarettes between their lips man the “Route 66” and the “The Twister,” while German barmaids heft thick mugs of beer to patrons at the event’s massive beer tent.
Business at the Volksfest is expected to hit a lull through the middle of the week, vendors said, with events picking up again Thursday, when the training area tours and military vehicle displays continue.
Live music will continue each day throughout the festival, with the event’s second fireworks display set for 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
The festival closes Sunday.
