Brats mixed and created according to an old-style German recipe will be the order of fare Aug. 3-5 as St. James Lutheran Church, 5660 Trabue Road, Columbus, Ohio, hosts its 24th annual Brats & Crafts Festival.
The church, founded by German immigrants in the 1840s, is estimated to host about 7,000 people on the lawn for homemade German food, live music, craft sales, hot-air balloon launches, inflatable children’s slides and bounceables and a co-ed softball tournament. The festival concludes on Sunday afternoon with a traditional German worship service. The brats (both spicy and mild) will be fashioned and cooked from a recipe by parishioner Gene Planck, whose family roots stretch back for several generations in the church. The menu will also include shredded chicken sandwiches, German potato salad, summer salad (tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a vinaigrette dressing), red cabbage slaw, local-grown sweet corn, hot dogs for the kids, and assorted homemade baked goods, including the crowd-favorite apple dumplings. Beer and soft drinks will be available.
Music and dancing will prevail under the tent both Friday and Saturday evening as the Burgermeister Kapel (a.k.a Restoration Jazz Band) performs a lively mix of jazz and polka. Additional music on Saturday will be provided by the St. James Contemporary musicians, led by parishioner Jim Weber. The group will perform in the tent from 2-3 p.m.
Visitors to this year’s festival might also enjoy a G-scale, steam-era electric train set displayed and operated by parishioner Mike Walls, who is a member of the Columbus Garden Railway Society. Walls was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last summer with a train set similar to the one which will be showcased at this year’s festival.
The weekend at St. James will wrap up on Aug. 5 with weekly worship services at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. inside the church. A “Patchwork Pear” Sunday School will be held outside on the lawn at 9:15 a.m., highlighted by a mime, clown and juggling act. The Columbus Maennerchor (men’s chorus) will perform outside at 1:30 p.m., and a traditional German worship service will be conducted inside the church beginning at 2:30 p.m. Steven Maurer will lead this unique service, with prayer and hymns spoken and sung in the German language.
Proceeds from the annual Brats & Crafts Festival are used for charitable activities in the Central Ohio area. The church supports and is involved in Habitat for Humanity, the Hilliard Welfare Council, and several other local food pantries and help organizations.
Festival hours will be Friday, Aug. 3 from 4:30 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 4 from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 5 from noon to 3 p.m.
St. James Lutheran Church is located off of I-70, west of Columbus, near the corner of Hilliard-Rome and Trabue roads. Free parking will be available on-site.
Anyone wishing to display crafts at the festival should contact the church office at 878-5158. For more information about the festival, visit http://www.stjamescolumbus.net or contact Festival Committee Chairman Steve Dodson at 777-7792.
