BELLVILLE — The Fruehling Saengerfest 2025 is a German Singing Festival with roots back to 1860. It is Sunday, April 27 at Concordia Hall in Bellville. It is a charity fundraiser for the Bellville Lions Club and the Bluebonnet Chapter of the Texas German Society. No admission, free limited parking, Barbecue chicken with local sausage meal, and homemade cakes. Serving starts at 11 a.m. and is the fundraising portion of the event. The donation for the meal is $15. There will be live music throughout the day.
The Fruehling Saengerfest is a German “Spring Singing Festival.” Its roots are in the original Sängerfest that began on May 26, 1860, at the Piney Concordia Hall. German immigrants organized this event for activities to enjoy singing familiar songs in German. The singing group was known as the Concordia Gesang Verein.
The activities for this year’s festival begin at 11 a.m. There will be a flag ceremony, after which the Bellville Lions Club will begin serving their delicious barbecue meal and the Round Top Brass Band (RTBB) will start their wonderful music. The Bellville High School Polka Band will alternate with the RTBB. Around 1 p.m. live variety music will begin with locally well-known Allison Crowson’s band called Alli and the Texas Polka Dots. The Bier Garten will serve sausage and kraut and a variety of beers and refreshments throughout the day.
German choir performances begin inside historic Concordia Hall around 2 p.m. The local choir, Concordia Gesang Vere- in will be first, followed by the Houston Liederkranz.
The Bluebonnet Chapter will have delicious slices of homemade cakes and other goodies for sale, on a donation basis, to enjoy. Cakes will also be available for the winners of the cake walk.
So, please come relax and enjoy the music, the traditions, the children’s activities, and the food on Sunday afternoon, April 27 in Bellville at Concordia Hall at 952 South Tesch.
Information is available at www.bellvillelions.org and Bellville Lions Club on Facebook or call 713-582-2461 Concordia Hall
Concordia Hall traces its origin to the Piney Concordia Gesangverein which was organized on May 26, 1860. It was founded by German immigrants who enjoyed food, beer and fellowship as they sang German Songs. After the 1900 storm destroyed the hall in Piney, Concordia moved to its present location in Bellville. Annual celebrations were held with special festivities held on the 50th, 75th and 100th anniversaries. By the 125th anniversary in 1985 interest in German singing and heritage had declined and the organization became inactive. In 1997, the Bellville Concordia Gesangverein deeded its land and building to the Bellville Lions Club with the idea of preserving the heritage of Concordia Hall and continuing the German heritage. The Lions Club completely renovated the facility so that it could be utilized for the betterment of the community.
Bellville Lions Club
The Bellville Lions Club has a rich history of service to the community for over 80 years. The club sponsors different fundraising activities to generate money that is given back to many different organizations and community projects. The Bellville Lions Club has given more than $450,000 to the community for the past five years. The club, also, funds an eyeglass program for needy students. Their motto is simply "WE SERVE." There is no better way to express the true mission of the Bellville Lions Club. Currently, the club has over 100 members who meet on the first and third Thursday of each month at noon at Concordia Hall.
Bluebonnet Chapter of the Texas German Society The Texas German Society was founded on Sept. 6, 1983. The purpose is to preserve and promote the German heritage, culture and language. The Bluebonnet Chapter, organized in July of 2001, meets on Sunday at 3 p.m. on odd-numbered months of the calendar at the historic Concordia Hall in Bellville. The meetings have a program with a related German theme, history or travel. In 2003, the Bluebonnet Chapter and the Bellville Lions Club planned a Fruehling Saengerfest to keep the tradition of singing German songs alive.
Concordia Gesang Verein The Concordia Gesang Verein is the great-great-great-grandchild of the original Piney Concordia Gesangverein which was organized on May 26, 1860.
