Tomball German Fest takes off under guidance of president

As president of the Tomball Sister City Organization, Grady Martin's passion has always been creating cultural and educational connections. His work organizing the Tomball German Heritage festivals over the last decade allowed him to have a little fun along the way as well.

"Most people know that a good German festival is a lot of fun," said Martin, the nonprofit's president since 2003. "If we can get them to come out with that promise, and leave with a little more awareness about German heritage, we have done our job."

The original idea for Tomball to enter into a sister city agreement with a German city was dreamt up by a man named Chris Tiews who worked with the Salem Lutheran Church. In 1998, Telgte was identified as the German city of choice, and an agreement was finalized in 1999.

As chair of TSCO, Martin has two main responsibilities: preparing festivals and developing the student exchange program. Both initiatives have seen growth, particularly over the last five years, he said.

When the first Tomball German Festival was held in 2001, only five vendors participated. Over the next 12 years, the vendor count would grow to 150, which Martin attributes to the passion and drive of the organizers.

"That first year it was pretty miserable," Martin said. "If we didn't have something pushing us—the desire to make the German Festival in Tomball succeed—I would've stopped a long time ago. I think we're beginning to see some of the rewards of our work."

On top of hosting two German festivals per year, TSCO is also responsible for bringing German students to Tomball High School each year through its exchange program. Since 2001, nearly 40 German students have been brought to Tomball, and four Texas students have gone to Telgte.

Martin has no plans to step down as president of TSCO, but hopes the festival continues long after he does.

"I think people would be upset if it stopped happening, so I hope they can keep it going," he said.

German Christmas Market

In Germany, it is a tradition around Christmas for every town throughout the country to hold its own Christmas market called a Vinesmart. This was the inspiration for the Tomball Sister City Organization to start its own German Christmas Market. This year's is set to take place Dec. 7–9.

The Tomball market this year features traditional German food and drink vendors, several new bands across three music tents, Christmas trees, strolling entertainers and Santa Claus. With nearly all of the vendor spaces already purchased for the German Christmas Market Dec. 7, Martin expects it to be the biggest yet.

"When the size increases, the quality of the vendors goes up," he said. "Vendors keep festivals interesting by giving people more stuff to look at. We try to get people who are professionals."