All appears to be quiet on local Father’s Day weekend front

It appears there will be no Berges Fest or any kind of similar celebration on Father’s Day weekend this year.

Chris Shadrock, communications director for the city of Boerne, told The Star no requests have been made by any person or organization to host an event on June 18 or 19.

“At this time, we have not heard from anyone indicating interest in organizing an event on Berges Fest weekend,” he said.

The Star also was told by the Berges Fest organization that nothing has been set for this year, and there is nothing listed on either the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce’s or the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau’s calendar of events.

Berges Fest was an annual tradition in Boerne from 1967 through 2020. Organizers said it originally was established to bring people together to enjoy music and German traditions.

The first celebration was a collaboration of the local Lions Club and the chamber of commerce. As it progressed and grew, it was regarded as one of the city’s “Big Three” events with the Kendall County Fair and Dickens on Main.

The entire 2020 festival was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but at the time officials were hopeful the event could take place in some fashion last year as the pandemic eased and people were vaccinated.

It originally was decided in April 2021 that the Berges Fest organization would sponsor a one-day festival at Main Plaza the day before Father’s Day with a “Musikfest” also planned at Don Strange Ranch on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Directors later canceled the event at Main Plaza, and eventually the accompanying parade, but the music festival went on as planned and featured some of the traditional Berges Fest events, as well as several local bands.

At the last minute a year ago, after the parade cancellation announcement was made, lifelong Boerne resident Eddie Vogt organized a Saturday parade to replace the traditional Berges Fest parade. That event featured dozens of participants and floats.

After its inception, Berges Fest remained in downtown Boerne until 1973, when it moved to the Kendall County Fairgrounds. It remained there until about 1988 before returning to the plaza. In 2016, the festival again moved to the fairgrounds, where it remained until 2020.