The Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LACS) has confirmed that the 35th annual Luxembourg Fest of America will be celebrated in Belgium, Wisconsin, between 13-15 August 2021.
Luxembourg Fest will kick off the Friday evening with live music by Reverend Raven & the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys with Westside Andy, sponsored by the Paramount Music Association. On the Saturday, the fun begins at 10:00 with a parade marching west down Belgium’s Main Street to festival grounds at Community Park, led by the traditional Hammelsmarsch (sheep march), which kicks off all Luxembourgish festivals.
Guests to Luxembourg Fest will bear witness to and participate in the world’s largest Treipen-eating contest, shop at the Luxembourg Fest Street Market, and sample the best in Luxembourgish beer, wine and cider with Ansay International’s “Taste of Luxembourg”, featuring guest Patrick Berg of Luxembourg’s Domaines Vinsmoselle winery. Visitors can take a photo with the living statue of Luxembourg’s Gelle Frä (Golden Lady) and brush up on their Luxembourgish with signage labelled in Luxembourgish scattered around the festival grounds. Treipen sampler platters will be available, and frozen treipen will again be available for purchase at Fest for those who want to bring it home for consuming later. New this year will be a caricature artist providing hand-drawn renderings of guests’ Luxembourg Fest experiences.
As part of the 35th anniversary, Luxembourg Fest will pay tribute to all families who have served as honoured families and will be putting out an invitation for all past honoured families to sign up to participate in the parade.
There will be vehicles to admire at the car show and a tent set up for guests to page through and identify people in the LACS’s vast collection of photos taken by Ozaukee County photographer Vern Arendt.
The Jolly Good Kids’ Zone for children’s entertainment will once again be provided at no charge, with hay bales, balloon animals, and magic & illusion shows by Glen Gerard to keep the kids giggling.
Live entertainment will take place on Fest grounds throughout the day. Division BMX will perform daring bike stunts in the afternoon. Music will be provided by Chicago’s Devon DeLux, Sheboygan’s Nitro Five, and headlining act Star Six Nine will perform at Fest Saturday night.
Sunday will once again be reserved for the Luxembourg Fest Polka Mass, which begins on Fest grounds at 10:00. Followed by Mass will be the Luxembourg Fest pageantry, where the Duke and Duchess of the Fest, Pat and Rhonda Krier, will be crowned. Live polka music, provided by the Goodtime Dutchmen, will continue beyond the service to allow for dancing and merriment during lunch, which includes a menu of American picnic fare as well as the popular Luxembourg treipen.
Luxembourg Fest planners are carefully monitoring the local situation regarding COVID-19, and all plans are subject to change, pending the current pandemic guidelines.
The Luxembourg American Cultural Society’s mission is to preserve the roots of our heritage and nurture the leaves of ongoing relationships between Luxembourg and America. It boasts a membership of more than 3,000 from several countries around the world. In a typical year, the LACS hosts multiple tours to Luxembourg, presents educational programmes and events such as its annual Cultural Conference and Luxembourg Fest, publishes the Luxembourg American Gazette, and is the only cultural institute trusted under the high patronage of the Grand Duke to assist with dual citizenship.
The LACS is based at the Luxembourg American Cultural Center in Belgium, Wisconsin, which also houses the Roots & Leaves Museum, Dooley-Wagner Research Center- the largest research centre for Luxembourg studies and genealogy outside of the Grand Duchy, and a Luxembourg gift shop.
