Four years of community gathering at Party by the Pond
The crowds at Party by the Pond traveled back a generation with a performance from 3 Hour Download. The band performed rock songs from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo by Clay Schuldt
New Ulm’s Tanner Stark Band kicks off the 2026 Party by the Pond. Photo by Dylan Jackson
The Star Chiefs brought the old Rockabilly sound to Party by the Pond, Saturday. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Paddles on display at Party by the Pond in honor of Steve “Brute” Farrasyn. Photo by Dylan Jackson
The crowds at Party by the Pond traveled back a generation with a performance from 3 Hour Download. The band performed rock songs from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo by Clay Schuldt
New Ulm’s Tanner Stark Band kicks off the 2026 Party by the Pond. Photo by Dylan Jackson
The Star Chiefs brought the old Rockabilly sound to Party by the Pond, Saturday. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Paddles on display at Party by the Pond in honor of Steve “Brute” Farrasyn. Photo by Dylan Jackson
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NEW ULM -- People gathered for live music, food, and community all day Saturday for the fourth year of Party by the Pond.
Party by the Pond is an annual community gathering that falls on the last weekend before school starts. It began in 2023 as a way for Amy and Terry Zinniel of Zinniel Utility Contracting to give back to the community.
Sharing a passion for music, the two wanted a place for the community to gather, enjoying community connection, good food, and live shows while simultaneously raising money for nonprofits.
"What started this for me was I thought we could have Zach Brown here," Amy Zinniel said.
Although Brown has yet to make an appearance, Party by the Pond had four bands perform, Saturday. New Ulm's Tanner Stark Band kicked things off Saturday, followed by The Star Chiefs, 3 Hour Download and IV Play.
The Zinniel's nonprofit, Music for a Mission, raises funds that are then all given back to the community through grant requests that fall under their four pillars of children, family, community, and private education.
A little under $50,000 has been given out to other nonprofits over the past three years.
The Zinniels, along with their fellow board members Jill R. Berdan, Kelsey Woitas and Shannon Hilleheim, come together each year to decide where the funds go.
"We'll get requests and review them as a board after we know how much we've made," Berdan said.
The board enjoys the review process because they get to find out about nonprofits they were previously unfamiliar with.
"We just appreciate those applications. We learn about different [organizations] we didn't even know existed, like Laundry Love," Amy Zinniel said.
Laundry Love is a nonprofit that provides laundry services to people who need them.
Each year of Party by the Pond has seen growth in both funds raised and activities for the event. Nine hundred people attended the first year, which was nearly doubled in 2025 with 1,700 attendees. Anticipating growth, an additional band was added this year, bringing the tally to four. To add variety, two more food trucks were also brought in.
These additions were made possible thanks to the 32 sponsors of the Party by the Pond event.
"The level of support from the community, the people that come out and support the event, and the businesses that are sponsoring so we can put the event on is huge," Terry Zinniel said.
Along with the sponsors, over 75 volunteers were present to help the party run smoothly, with many of them being associated with nonprofits that had received grants from previous years.
"A lot of the organizations that received grants are saying we want to come and help you put this on because we're so thankful for what you did for us," Berdan said.
Tea for Cancer, who helped run the food stand, were one of these organizations.
Tea for Cancer raises money for local cancer patients within 20 miles of New Ulm. They have raised nearly $150,000 since 2022 and have benefitted 140 families.
"We were honored to be a recipient after 2025's concert," President of Tea for Cancer Sandy Reinke said, "We like to think of things in our community as a collaboration [so] if somebody's nice enough to recognize us... we want to be able to give back."
Half of Tea for Cancer's board volunteered during Saturday's event.
One of the joys involved with giving back to the community are the connections made and strengthened.
"You get to know [everyone] as friends when [you are] working together," Amy Zinniel said.
One of the first people that the Zinniels went to when starting Party by the Pond was their friend Steve "Brute" Farrasyn.
Struggling to obtain a liquor license, Terry Zinniel reached out to his friend Farrasyn, who owned Searles Bar and Grill.
"I talked to him and he said whatever you guys need, we'll take care of it," Terry Zinniel said.
"He was a big part of helping us fund that first event because he was so generous," Berdan said.
Farrasyn passed away 11 days before the first Party by the Pond. Farrasyn's contributions to the event are recognized with paddles hung by the bar in honor of him.
Next summer will mark five years of Party by the Pond. The board said that big plans are in store to celebrate the milestone.