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Bock Festers take snow in stride

Fasching costume parade one of biggest

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt The deep snowbanks at the Schell’s Brewery allowed the crowds to sit back and relax. (L to R) Schalee Nelson, Sam Halverson, Brittney Jensen and Samantha Kaeter found an extremely comfortable snow drift. See more photos on page 8A, and on cu.nujournal.com.

NEW ULM — A fresh layer of snow blanketed the Schells Brewery grounds Saturday morning, making this the snowiest Bock Fest in the last few years.

This year, festival goers contended with snow and cold. The temperatures started a three degrees and rose to 10 degrees by 4 p.m.

Since Bock Fest was permanently moved to the first weekend in March the average temperature of the festival has been on the rise. In 2017, the temperatures reached 40 degrees and in 2018, the crowds had to contend with mud.

This year the crowds were in full parkas, big boots and warm hats. The Schells gift shop sold a lot of hand warmers.

Despite the low temperature, a crowd of thousands visited the brewery. It was estimated nearly 4,000 people visited Schells by the day’s end. Visitors came from all over Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. For every die-hard fan of Bock Fest, there was a least one newcomer to the event.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Schell’s President Ted Marti stands with Michael Bee who managed to find three of the seven Bock heads hidden in the woods around the brewery.

Julie Laabs and her family were new to the event. The family traveled from Chanhassen. Julie said it was an exciting event. She had never tried caramelizing her beer before and the experience was eye opening.

This was also the first Bock Fest for Jake Steffen of Sioux Falls. He heard about the festivities before and finally decided to attend with a group of friends. Steffen said he was most surprised by the attitude of the people.

“The people here are so nice,” he said. “Everyone, from the staff and the people on the streets, are so friendly.”

The excess snow made it difficult to travel through certain sections of the brewery, but the huge snow drifts served as additional seating. A few creative people carved out chairs into the snow.

Each year a few adventurous attendees march through Schells’ woods seeking for the seven Bocks. The legend is if all seven Bocks are found winter will end early.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Little Levi Lindquist won 5th place overall in the Fasching Parade of Costumes. He was the youngest contestant in extremely competitive year.

This year those seeking the Bocks were given a list of clues to help find the Bocks, but the snowfall Friday evening created a greater challenge. At least five of Bock heads were found during the celebration. Michael Bee of Rochester found three of the Bock heads. Bee said he found two of the Bocks thanks to the clues, but stumbled upon another by accident.

Schells President Ted Marti said Bee might have set a record for Bock hunting.

A fourth Bock was found by another Brett Hanson who is also from Rochester.

Both Bee and Hanson are experts at hunting the Bock. The two Rochester men each located a bock head last year.

The Fasching holiday continued after Bock Fest ended. The crowds returned to the Green Mill/Best Western Plus.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt The Concord Singers always close the Fasching season with a strong performance. This year the singers all dress in costumes for the final show.

A highlight of the evening was the Parade of Costumes which featured several unique outfits. The top prize went to Gene Brand and Rosemary Geer for their fisherman and fish costumes.

The Jolly Jammers and Concord Singers entertained the crowds inside the Hotel, while the crowds outside under the Green Mill tent were rocked by performances from the Blue Ringers and IV Play.

Everyone in attending the days events hoped for the early arrival of spring.

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