Thousands drawn to Bock Fest
Waiting in line at Bock Fest was not unbearable for those who prepared.
Steven and Matt Ringhofer attended Bock Fest in matching bottle cap suits. Steve said it took five years to create the suits from 3,000 bottles. The extra metal adds 50 pounds to the suit.
Larry Mack used a red-hot poker to caramelize a patron’s beer.
Ian and Lorna McCleerey wear matching capes to Bock Fest. The couple is from Sioux Falls and this is their first visit to Bock Fest. The capes were made by a friend.
Roughly 6,200 people entered the gates at Schell’s Brewery Saturday. Around 4,000 had advance tickets, and the rest waited in line on the day.
Several colorful characters attended Bock Fest, including “Susan” and “Rebecca” who attended in their best spring dresses.
A little over 6,000 people wandered through the Schell’s Brewery grounds during Bock Fest.
The Bock Fest crowd was not overly concerned the party grounds were boarding a flood zone. The waters were receding by the time of Bock Fest, but in past years flooding was no concern since the river remained iced over.
From left, Becca Anderson, Marnie Goerges and Katie Zimmerman of Alexandria came to Bock Fest for the first time. The trio found a log on the flooding edge of the Cottonwood to enjoy the warm weather and beer.
The line to enter Schell’s Brewery stretched from South Park to the former Target building.
Waiting in line at Bock Fest was not unbearable for those who prepared.
Steven and Matt Ringhofer attended Bock Fest in matching bottle cap suits. Steve said it took five years to create the suits from 3,000 bottles. The extra metal adds 50 pounds to the suit.
Larry Mack used a red-hot poker to caramelize a patron’s beer.
Ian and Lorna McCleerey wear matching capes to Bock Fest. The couple is from Sioux Falls and this is their first visit to Bock Fest. The capes were made by a friend.
Roughly 6,200 people entered the gates at Schell’s Brewery Saturday. Around 4,000 had advance tickets, and the rest waited in line on the day.
Several colorful characters attended Bock Fest, including “Susan” and “Rebecca” who attended in their best spring dresses.
A little over 6,000 people wandered through the Schell’s Brewery grounds during Bock Fest.
The Bock Fest crowd was not overly concerned the party grounds were boarding a flood zone. The waters were receding by the time of Bock Fest, but in past years flooding was no concern since the river remained iced over.
From left, Becca Anderson, Marnie Goerges and Katie Zimmerman of Alexandria came to Bock Fest for the first time. The trio found a log on the flooding edge of the Cottonwood to enjoy the warm weather and beer.
The line to enter Schell’s Brewery stretched from South Park to the former Target building.
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NEW ULM--For the first time since Bock Fest began, visitors to Schell's Brewery needed to find sunblock more than the bock.
Unusually high temperatures for early March brought large crowds to the 2020 Bock Fest. During festivities, temperatures reached as high as 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Many chose to walk around Schell's Brewery without coats and even a few were seen in shorts. Last year, the high temperature at Bock Fest was 10 degrees.
The official number of people entering Schell's Brewery grounds is unknown, but a rough estimate was 6,200. Staff at the brewery said around 4,000 presale tickets were sold and at least a thousand were in line to by tickets the day of the event.
The downside to the warm weather was increased flooding on the Cottonwood River. In the past year, people attending Bock Fest were able to wander the trails around Schells to the frozen river.
This year, the area surrounding Schell's that usually serves as the bock hunting grounds were flooded. The river was flowing a few yards from the low-level bar.
Traditionally, Schell's would hide seven wooden bock heads in the wooded area. The legend was if all seven were found, winter would end early. However, the hiding location for the bocks was currently underwater. Since winter appears to have ended already, there was no need to find the bocks.
The cancellation of the bock hunt did not detour anyone from visiting the brewery. Many people chose to wander along the edge of the flooded Cottonwood and sit along the new wooded shoreline.
After the brewery closed at 4:30 p.m. many of the festival-goers headed to downtown New Ulm for further celebration. The area restaurants and bars saw a surge in attendance.
The B&L brought in many guests with its ice bar, made from 40,000 pounds of ice blocks. Despite temperatures above freezing the ice bar managed to hold together until after the evening's festivities ended.