Wurstfest's Free Weeknights Are the Locals' Festival, and This Year They Come With a Weingarten

"At its heart, Wurstfest is a service organization," 2026 Wurstfest President Marc Allen said in a news release quoted by Community Impact. The same report says 26 local nonprofits benefit from food, drink and goods sales at the festival, and Allen says most of them raise their annual budget there.

That changes how the 65th Wurstfest looks from inside city limits. Visitors mostly see a ticketed weekend party at Landa Park. If you live here, it's a ten-day fundraiser for the Rotary clubs, booster groups, Lions clubs and museums down the street, with a four-night stretch in the middle where admission costs nothing. The festival runs Nov. 6 to 15, and the official Wurstfest site lists more than 40 bands, five stages and over 250 sets.

Ten Days, Four Free Nights

The schedule below puts two sources together: admission and hours from Community Impact's 2026 guide, and the Landa Street closure times from the City of New Braunfels traffic advisory posted Sept. 4, 2026.

Children 12 and under get in free every day.

On a Saturday, a household of two adults pays $50 online or $60 at the gate before buying a single sausage. From Monday, Nov. 9, through Thursday, Nov. 12, the same two people pay nothing to get in. Street impact drops on those nights too. The city closes the westbound lane of Landa Street between Zink Street and Landa Park Drive during festival hours, and on weeknights that closure starts at 3 p.m. On the first Saturday it starts at 9 a.m. The lane stays open to pedestrians the whole time.

The free window also lines up with one of the festival's most community-minded events. The Veterans Salute is Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Wursthalle, on a night with no admission charge. The final Sunday has its own small window. Admission goes free at 3 p.m., and the polka contest starts in the Wursthalle at 3:30 p.m. That's right after the 2026 USSA Texas Steinholding State Championship Tournament Finals at 2 p.m.

Where the Money Goes at the Booth

On a free night, the money you spend inside goes to booths, bars and the carnival, and many of the booths belong to nonprofits. The 2026 Wurstfest food vendor directory marks a long list of booths as nonprofit, and several of them list exactly what they're serving this year:

• Rotary Club of New Braunfels, Booth A-1. Potato pancakes, or Kartoffelpuffers. The club has been at Wurstfest since 1967. It took over the Bracken Volunteer Fire Department booth in 2007 and says its volunteers put in more than 2,000 hours a year making the pancakes, which fund local scholarships and youth programs.
• Downtown Rotary, Booth B-6. The Wurst-N-Tashen, made with bratwurst, pita, sauerkraut and onions and peppers, plus a corned beef Rueben-N-Tashen on rye pita and a new Wurst Dog. The club says it has been part of Wurstfest for almost 40 years.
• New Braunfels Conservation Society, Booth B-11. Pretzels.
• Long Creek High School Dance Boosters, Booth WB-6. A sausage boil and a signature fluffy soda, run by parent volunteers for what the booth calls a brand-new dance program at a new school.
• Canyon High School Music Boosters. Made-to-order funnel cakes.

Other nonprofit booths on the 2026 list include the New Braunfels Fire Fighters Association, New Braunfels Jaycees, New Braunfels Little League, New Braunfels Noon Lions Club, New Braunfels Evening Lions Club, Comal County Senior Citizen's Center, Comal County Jr Livestock Association, Canyon Lake Masonic Lodge, New Braunfels Elks Lodge, New Braunfels Performing Arts, New Braunfels Youth Soccer Association, SRJC Texas and the Children's Advocacy Center of Comal County. Their 2026 listings don't name a menu. Past years give a sense of the range, though. In 2023, the Herald-Zeitung reported fried Oreos as the Evening Lions' big draw, a Brezel Wurst wrapped in pretzel with beer cheese at the Jaycees, and potato salad as the signature at the Senior Citizen's Center booth. Those were 2023 menus, so check the booth before you go in with a craving.

The goods side works the same way. The Sophienburg Museum booth sells steins, hats, handicrafts and the official annual Opa Mug. The New Braunfels High School Band Boosters sell the official Wurstfest hat pin and branded merchandise. The German American Society is listed as a nonprofit goods booth too.

The giving starts before the gates open. Community Impact reports that Wurstfest organizers commit $130,000 in matching funds to local nonprofits through The Big Give.

All Wurstfest admissions and bar purchases are cashless this year, so only tap-to-pay or credit and debit cards work there. Allen told Community Impact that the other small business vendors will take both cash and cards.

The Hydroplant Weingarten Is the Biggest Change Inside the Gates

The main new feature for the 65th year is a Weingarten in the historic Hydroplant near Gate 1, by the mill pond. It will pour German wines and premium U.S. selections, according to Community Impact and Visit New Braunfels. Visit New Braunfels adds pairings from Otto's Cheese Shop.

The Weingarten's sausage-making demonstrations run only on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On a free Monday through Thursday, you get the wine and cheese without the demos. To see sausage being made, you need a paid weekend day.

The rest of what's new this year:

• Three new beers on tap. Modelo, Paulaner Pils and Weihenstephan, which Allen described as coming from one of the oldest breweries in the world.
• New food vendors. Rocky Mountain Crepes, the Gruene crepe shop, joins the grounds, along with expanded Fun Biz concessions and a new trailer by the carnival selling nachos and street tacos.
• The lineup. The official schedule includes Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra, Alex Meixner, Kerry Christensen, Chardon Polka Band, Copperbox, Walburg Boys and Die Schlauberger.

The Wasserplatz pavilion and restroom upgrades arrived in 2025, according to the Herald-Zeitung. They'll be in their second year this November.

Opening night is the one paid evening that's mostly ceremony. The opening ceremonies and the traditional biting of the sausage start at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in the Wursthalle, with Alex Meixner opening the ceremony, according to MySA.

Getting In and Out From Across Town

Visitor traffic follows set routes, and most of them avoid the neighborhood streets near the park. Here are the pieces a resident needs, from the city advisory and the festival's own pages:

1. Charter buses, party buses and limousines are routed via Loop 337 to Common Street, Common to Union, Union to W. Torrey, W. Torrey to Elizabeth Avenue, then to Hinman Island for drop-off and pickup. If you live along that path, expect that traffic during festival hours.
2. Rideshare pickup and drop-off is on Mill Race Run in Landa Park. The festival specifies Pavilion 16 and recommends using Gate 2.
3. Park and ride runs from the Comal County Fairgrounds at 701 E. Common Street. Parking there is free, and the shuttle costs $10 per person ages 13 and older and drops riders at the festival gate. Children 12 and under ride free.
4. Hotel shuttles run only on Fridays and Saturdays, at $25 per person round trip, and drop off at Gate 3. Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard Marriott and Hacienda Del Rio are among the stops.

Put that next to the table and the weekday advantage holds up. On Nov. 9 through 12, the Landa Street lane stays open until mid-afternoon, there's no gate fee, and the hotel shuttles aren't running. A household can walk or ride in, buy a plate of Kartoffelpuffers from a club that has served them since 1967, and be home by 10 p.m.

For more on how this part of town is changing through the year, read our August look at New Braunfels' dining and music calendar and our New Braunfels neighborhood guide.

Festival week is when you find out what it's like to live near Landa Park, from the closure on Landa Street to the walk over from Zink Street. Our team has watched New Braunfels move through many Novembers, and we can show you what that means for a home near the park. If you're curious what your place is worth this season, The Lisa Guzman Group can put a number on it quickly. Start with a free home valuation.