A Fort Worth venue is bringing back a century-old German tradition: Crystal Springs Hideaway, the beer and wine garden in the River District, will host Maifest, a free three-day festival with beer, brats, and polka, running from May 30 to June 1.
Maifest is a traditional festival in Germany that dates back to the Middle Ages as a celebration of the coming of spring — sort of like a spring version of Oktoberfest, the better-known German gathering with music, dancing, beer, and food.
Crystal Springs owners JD and Shanna Granger have extensive experience with the Oktoberfest tradition, and thought it would be fun to revive its spring counterpoint.
"JD and I produce the Fort Worth Oktoberfest and have since 2014," Shanna says. "We have gone to the Oktoberfest in Munich together twice and been to many of the German and Oktoberfest celebrations around Texas and Oklahoma. I chaired the Trier, Germany committee for Fort Worth Sister Cities International and had the opportunity to travel to Trier with Sister Cities. JD traveled there numerous times in college and post college and went around to the different regions."
"We both have a real love for the culture," she says. "The German vendors and entertainers we've gotten to know from producing the Fort Worth Oktoberfest are a big family that we feel privileged to be a part of."
Some of those artists and vendors travel around in in May to play at Maifests across the U.S. The Grangers also discovered that Fort Worth once hosted Maifest events, as well — more than a century ago.
"In Fort Worth, our spring may come a little earlier, but it was still celebrated in May by German immigrants who brought their tradition to Cowtown," Shanna says. "We found that the earliest recorded Maifest was held in 1882. From what I read in history books, it was a pretty big deal — held at various venues including Grunewald Pavilion and Hermann Park throughout the decades."
Note: This is no relation to Mayfest, Fort Worth's annual spring party, created to celebrate the revitalization of the Trinity River and Parks.
Crystal Springs HideawayCrystal Springs Hideaway
"We think this could be a really fun annual event, not just your normal bar drink specials type deal but a cultural event like the Oktoberfest," she says.
Crystal Springs Hideaway — with its beer garden, authentic German biergarten tables, 25 beers on tap served in glass steins made in Germany, plus stage for live music and a kitchen — seemed like the perfect place to bring back the Maifest tradition.
"Our goal is to continue to grow it where it could go multiple weeks, and expand into tents surrounding the Hideaway," Shanna says. "This is just our first year, so we wanted to get it off the ground."
Opening Crystal Springs Hideaway was another thoughtful pursuit of history for the Grangers, who came across the 100-year-old bungalow with stone carriage house and water tower and carefully renovated it into a comfortable, affordable place in a great neighborhood to enjoy drinks with friends and grab a bite to eat. With a name that nods to the Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion — which was located directly behind the venue and is known as the birthplace of western swing music in the 1920’s — it's become part of the Fort Worth fabric.
Maifest will take place on May 30 at 11 am and run until June 1 at 9 pm. Special bratwurst and pretzel menu items will be featured all weekend, along with $5 Paulaner draft biers. (Paulaner was founded in Munich, Germany in 1634. It’s one of the 7 original breweries in Munich.) German polka party bands will include Oktoberfest veteran bands Alpine Village Band on Friday, and Alpenmusikanten on Saturday. There'll also be stein-hoisting contests, Fort Worth Oktoberfest ticket giveaways, and costume contests with special prizes will be awarded for everyone that wears German dirndl or lederhosen.
