Houstonfest, a yearly competition held for German students across the district to let them compete for awards and scholarships, will be held on February 8 at Kingswood High School.
“Houstonfest has existed since 1980,” German teacher Lauren Davis said. “Before I started at Clements, the teacher before me was like the king of Houstonfest, and the students took it really seriously.”
Due to Houstonfest becoming more competitive, German students will be forced to be more competitive as well to keep up.
“The other schools that are in our category are way bigger than us,” sophomore Meher Rajpal said. “But we also have a lot more people participating this year.”
Another student, Sophomore Atharv Nichal agreed, saying that the number of people was a “little overwhelming”.
“However, if you think you did well, you should be just fine,” Nichal said. “Besides, the atmosphere will just get better with more people from various schools from Houston.”
More students than ever have signed up for Houstonfest in FBISD, with almost seventy students this year.
“From Clements, we have 39, I think we have about 15, and from Ridgepoint also 15,” Davis said. “So Fort Bend ISD German is going to be very well represented.”
This is mainly because many more of the German 1 students have signed up for Houstonfest compared to last year.
“In my short time here, this is the most German 1 students that I’m bringing,” Davis said. “Our German club and German Honor Society have done a great job explaining this very strange, unique thing to our freshmen who otherwise have no experience with it.”
However it’s not just German students who can participate. For some competitions such as Polka Band, a limited number of members outside of German can join the band and compete.
“I do know in Polka Band, we’re allowed to have two people that aren’t in German,” Rajpal said. “Next year, we’re gonna have a spot open if someone that’s in band wants to do Polka Band, they definitely could.”
The Polka Band has also won the last two years of Houstonfest, and will be defending their titles this year.
“What I love about Polka Band is, they take skills, musical and leadership and teamwork that they learned in marching band,” Davis said. “Totally without supervision, totally without guidance from a teacher.”
Nichal also said that Houstonfest has “lucrative” event opportunities.
“Not only do you get a fun contest experience, there are many perks to add to your college application,” Nichal said.
However, at the end of the day, Houstonfest is meant to be a celebration of German culture and a fun experience.
“Since we’re FBISD German, even beyond that, have fun with it,” Davis said. “Have fun with it.”
