My first and last Wassailfest. They tried to duplicate the Christmas Market atmosphere in Europe…read more Very difficult to do for one 3 hour (6-9PM) block of time on a single evening. Instead it was just a mass of people milling around downtown New Braunfels. Very long lines for mini sized paper cups of wassail. Just a mess.

Wonderful time! Great feeling of community and small town warmth. New to this beautiful town and…read moreso happy we made the move!

Wurstfest is one of my favorite festivals to attend each year! The food, drinks and entertainment…read moreare always awesome. Pro tip- go on a week night because it's free entry. Weekends require purchased tickets. There's a little something for everyone, food galore, adult beverages, shopping, live music, a carnival, indoor and outdoor seating, etc. Do yourself a favor and get a pork chop on a stick. It's the most popular food item- you can tell by the constant line of people at their booth. My one disappointment is that beer prices continually rise every year. There was a point in time that you could get a domestic beer pitcher for $15-17, now a pitcher (import) is over $30! Although I wish the prices would decline, I know that I'm going to return each year because I always have the best time!

Quick historical tidbit: Of all the settlers that came to…read moreTexas only the German Immigrants did not break treaties with Indians. Which became the basis in the creation of New Braunfels. Why did I add this? Well, as a newbie to Wurstfest the friendliness by the community is abundant. I have been meaning to do it for years but that day never came, until now. I am not a fan of crowds even though I'm front and center for Fiesta San Antonio. In Texas we love to party. Which brings me back to my historical tidbit. All immigrants, settlers that have come(and still do) from other countries have contributed to the genesis of our state. Be it by culture, food and music. Wurstfest is a reaffirmation of the influence German Immigrants has had in the creation of a Texas identity. An event that unabashedly celebrates both sausage and beer, which is a match made in heaven. Firstly, I implore you to buy tickets online. It's five bucks lesser and will alleviate potential entrance headaches. As I get older I find myself opting to go early or when an event opens. If you're an introvert like as me I highly recommend this. Wurstfest offers a shuttle service that is minutes away. I encourage you to utilize this. For about ten bucks you park in a separate area away from the event. The shuttle buses run every few minutes. And they run extremely efficiently. When I arrived here I was struck by how vast it is. I have never been to the October Fest in Germany. But as big as Texas Events are this one is really on an epic scale. You can sense what this event means to this community. Before you even enter you see masses of men wearing Alpine Hats and lederhosen. And the women rocking dirndl dresses. Entering and walking on the grounds you are surrounded by beer, food and music. Pretzels. Schnitzel. Bratwurst. Sauerkraut. In all directions there are beer stations everywhere. You can buy beer by the cup, plastic stein or the pitcher. There is a small list of beers on tap: Spoetzl Brewery and Hofbrau, from Germany. Brace yourself for the lines. You won't find a Hazy IPA, Trappist ALE nor any other style of beer for that matter. All beer and food is meant to aggrandize German culture, heritage and traditions. Thus it is mainly German styles. In addition there are pockets of small and large areas with picnic style seating and music. It is a communal affair. In Wursthalle Oompah Bands are playing with festivalgoers steins hoisted in the air, in unison with the music. The dance floor is filled with couples and that odd single dude doing the "Chicken Dance." For a second I closed my eyes and could hear the similarities between Mexican and Conjunto music. Thus the German Culture is monumental. In contrast in San Antonio when events where food and drinks collide there is a rowdy crowd. It often leads to grandstanding or hot-headed patrons. All throughout the day everyone was extremely friendly. It is a party vibe but my summation is that festivalgoers want to have a good time without incident. People have commented on how expensive this event is. Food items are reasonably priced but the beer is where the brunt of your money will go to. Pitchers were $40 bucks and I saw people walking around with three or more empty vessels. My suggestion is to stick with the German beers. They go perfectly with the food and are more full bodied. Especially with the brezel wurst I had. I know this used to be a ticketed event for everything here. Food and beer are by credit or debit card only. Before I do a terrible, awkward and awful interpretation of a "Chicken Dance" to cap this review let me add this. The Wurstfest is an awesome event that celebrates German Heritage. It fits in with the historical narrative that all immigrants contribute and still continue to our mosaic. If you've never gone before I highly recommend it. Next year I'm going to rock an Alpine Hat but I'm leaving the lederhosen home.

I've been to many wine tasting festivals in different cities, and this one was not worth it. The…read moreprice is $20 for a wine glass and 5 tickets for tastings. Personally 5 tastings is not enough when there are dozens of winery booths there. If the tastings were unlimited, then the $20 ticket price would be very worth it. All wine tasting events I have been to in the past, included unlimited tastings except for this one. Plus this event gets super packed with people, which makes for waiting in long lines at the tasting booths. After we got all of our wine tastings we just went to The Grapevine and The Winery on Gruene to hang out. There wasn't much else to do at the wine festival beside the tastings. We will definitely skip this festival next year.

I am a Gruene, TX fan. So, I am a bit biases- I just love Gruene. However, the coordinators of…read morethis event really could step it up to make this an off the charts must go to event. I have attended several times and sadly the ticket price ratio to the event doesn't equate. So, don't jump on your social media accounts to invite all of your friends and their crew. Share your $$. I will share with you why...ticket prices have increased over the years, but the drink tixs have decreased, as well of the goody bag that had been given in the past. Additionally, there are fewer quality wine and craft vendors. The food trucks are a joke, we waited 25 minutes for our food--there is LIMITED seating for the event. One year we were first in line, once we entered the majority of tables already were full with "regulars" who had bags of food and personal items plus bottles of wine. My husband has a severe health problem and needed to put his legs up and use an umbrella. A cowboy came over to him and ordered him to put his legs down and move his umbrella (he was using it bc of the sun---he had recently had a bone marrow transplant.). The guy wanted his wife to sit down and then called my husband a very profane name. So- guests are pushy and rude. The tents are not ventilated well- be prepared to sweat your butts off. The music is fun- we had to use the Grapevine bathrooms (ladies beware ONE TOLIET). The line is long--- advice bring. Friend with you to guard the male bathroom so that you can use it to cut your time.

My kids went & spent $15 a plate for pure 'garbage'. Guy was down to bottom of it & no corn no…read morepotatoes to be found. Once they sat down they realized it was all just cold trash that sinks to very bottom. What a huge letdown.

Wow! This event was so disappointing. I arrived with a friend on Saturday 6:30 pm. First of all, we…read moretook an Uber and the teenage parking nazis wouldn't let my driver through. We had to get out at the Common St. entrance and walk about 400 yards to the ticket booth. I just had knee surgery and a couple back procedures so this was literally a pain! Tickets were $25 each. Are you kidding?! I'm not sure why I paid, but I guess I wanted to make the best of it. Once inside the grounds, which was like a total of 5 acres, we immediately noticed there were not a lot of folks there. We decided to walk around and came to the carnival ride area. There were some rides not operating and the two that were looked like they had been used since the 1920's. It's amazing what superglue and duct tape can hold together. Then there was the food.........! The crawfish I saw people eating looked unimpressive so I went with a $9 bowl of mushy, flavorless jambalaya. After my mouth felt as if I had been licking sawdust, I was thirsty. I passed on the $5 canned beer and instead bought an $8 strawberry lemonade. I threw that sour, overpriced trash in the garbage after I forced half of it down. After wasting 30 minutes of my life that I'd never get back we decided to leave. My advice to anyone considering this so called "festival" is to instead go find a nice restaurant patio somewhere and enjoy a cocktail and a decent meal.

Spent waiting in line exactly two hours before making our way in. Formed one line from the frontage…read moreroad. Once in the parking lot, they stack you within the five lane holding. Then funnel you into the moving three lanes to purchase you $54 entrance fee (by that time how do you get out of it) Then on to another 6 lane holding position (this one was only about 3 minutes). By the time we made it in the kids where worn out to really enjoy what they were originally excited to see. The drive tour lasted a good 40 minutes

This review is for The Light Park. Go on a weeknight before the week before Christmas, good flow…read moreand no wait. It was cute enough for a festive thing to do for the holidays. Lots to see. Less expensive then other places. Synched to music. Laid out in a tight long S curves in a parking lot in Retama park. I guess this has a new name The Light Park. Kids enjoyed and I enjoyed seeing the kids happy. It's a parking lot of Christmas lights and drive thru tunnels.

TO NOTE: The Wurstfest CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL is not the same event as Wurstfest (aka Oktoberfest) in…read moreNew Braunfels. The CRAFT BEER event is simply held on the same grounds in the spring; whereas, Wurstfest is in the fall. Nor is it to be confused with the Texas Craft Beer Fest held at Fiesta Gardens in Austin annually. Jeez. ;) The 3rd annual 2017 Texas Craft Beer Festival is sponsored by and on the same grounds as Wurstfest, but they are two very different events at two very different times of year. Well, two things in common: beer and sausage. :D The TCBF hosts over 100 craft brews, about a dozen food trucks, live music, a "real" restroom box with running water (HUGE lady bonus), and doesn't over sale tickets so just the right amount of friendly folks to enhance the good libations. For only $35p/p (or $50 at the gates) you get entry, 6 generous sample pours, and of course have option to buy more by cup or bottle. There were Texas craft beers from all across the Lone Star state. Many of which I was already familiar with (Austin in da house), including some of my favorite locals (shout out to Adelbert's and Oasis Texas!). Also suds from San Antonio, Dallas/Ft.Worth Metro, Seguin...the list goes on and on. Overall: Really well organized, all beers well-stocked, staff super nice, reasonable prices for "extras," great grounds ("down by the river!"), and perfect weather. I know where I'll be next April. Cheers to beer y'all! Tips: Cash only event. Bring some sweet moola. Park across the street for 10 bucks. If you don't live in New Braunfels, fork out the dough for a hotel or make some friends. Ha!

Keep the Wurstfest Craft Beer Festival lame. This "festival," if you want to call it that, was…read morepretty sad. Let me start by saying that my gf paid for 2 $100 VIP tickets for us, so most of this review is about the "VIP" experience. You would figure that for that amount, you'd get an excellent experience. Not so much. I'm no hipster but I do love me some craft beer. While all the breweries were all damn good, you would figure that for the price (VIP or Regular), you'd see breweries/beers that you CAN NOT find at HEB/VALERO/Stripes. Uh, yeah, no. There was not one single beer represented that I couldn't find at any convenience/grocery store, even here, in New Braunfels. The only real perk you received was you got to see some dude play acoustic and a mediocre bbq plate- that's it. There's been other festivals that for VIP, you may get additional better perks: extra drink tickets, swag, get to start earlier than general admission, etc. This festival totally robbed you. To make matters worse, I reached out to the organizers via phone, email and social media and never heard a response. I would not only not pay for the VIP experience, I would not even pay for the regular experience. You're better off taking the money you would spend there an head to HEB and create your own six packs, invite your buddies over to your place and have your own festival. You'd get a better experience.

We went to Santa's Ranch the other night and had such a great time. From the moment you walk in,…read morethere's a cute concession and treats stand with hot cocoa, caramel corn, fun gifts, and even T-shirts, which really sets the tone for the experience. You can tell this place is special, it's family-owned and has been running for 20 years, and that care and tradition truly show. Everything felt festive, welcoming, and well done. I'm so glad we found this spot, and it's definitely a place we'll return to and recommend to others.

Santa's Ranch is one of those places that instantly puts you in a good mood the moment you pull in…read more It's warm, festive, and so full of Christmas spirit that even the Grinch would crack a smile. The light displays are beautiful -- creative, colorful, and way bigger than you expect. Every turn has something new and fun, and we found ourselves pointing things out like little kids. The staff was so kind and welcoming, and the whole experience felt organized and relaxed (no chaos, even with the crowds!). My favorite part? Rolling the windows down, letting the cold air in, and just soaking up that magical holiday feeling. It's the perfect cozy night out with family, kids, or your partner -- hot cocoa in hand, Christmas music on, and nothing but twinkly light happiness.

Most of this food is cheap carnival food, but there is one African American team with a 50 foot…read moresmoker cooking wood smoked whole turkey legs. They are not with the other barbecue competitors but in the festival area. The Schertz Park Commission always puts on good festivals, but they need to offer more upscale food trucks. The bands were great as always. My big complaint was the parking area was about 3 football fields away. They kept the closest spots for the bbq competitors. We are the paying customers.

Super unorganized and a logistical failure. There were no hand wash or sanitize stations! None of…read morethe staff were helpful in helping us navigate the parking lot or even where to go for the concert venue. They closed down floating early both days with no notice and we didn't get a refund despite buying a float pass. Total BS. The shows were good and there was a large variety of food vendors but that's the only good part.

I am extremely unimpressed with the Customer Service Department. I sent a polite email today asking…read moreabout their refund policy and I received a condescending reply from "Ryan" implying that I should be praying for Joe (the Glass Animals drummer) instead of asking questions about refunds.  Their unsolicited morality check was immensely inspiring and uplifting said no one ever.   Secondly, my sister also emailed today to ask a question about the shuttle service that is posted all over their website/emails/newsletters.  That same "Ryan" responded back to her with the uber-helpful, two-word response, "What shuttle?".  Seriously, Ryan?!  You couldn't be less helpful if you tried.   For the record, his follow up email to her was equally rude and unhelpful. I enjoyed Float Fest so much last year that I upgraded my tickets to VIP this year.  Sadly, "Ryan" and your Customer Service Department has soured me on the entire festival so I will not be attending again.   My unsolicited advice to "Ryan" and your Customer Service Team is "Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible." (Dalai Lama).