Sunday afternoon, the Narren were joined by Dain’s Dutchmen at the Best Western Plus to celebrate the season. As Dain’s Dutchmen played polka music, the Narren encouraged the crowds to dance or play games.

This year’s celebration include a special display featuring photographs of the Narren’s recent overseas holiday. Sixteen members of the Narren traveled to Ulm, Germany to to attend the Ringtreffen. The Ringtreffen is an event that is hosted in various villages and cities every four years. The event begins with skits by various Narren clubs. The Ringtreffen concludes with a parade of Narren clubs.

The Narren of New Ulm attended the Ringtreffen as observers. The goal is to learn from other Narren groups and bring back ideas for New Ulm’s Fasching celebration.

New Ulm Narren leader Al Waldvogel said he was struck by how serious the Fasching celebration is taken in Germany.

Young Lily Laffrenzen dances with father David Laffrenzen during the Fasching celebration. Next to them, 3-year-old Nora Beranek dances with New Ulm 1st Princess Adeline Ringhofer and a Narren.

“The town really gets into it,” Waldvogel said. “The businesses and residential homes all decorate with the Fasching rags. It’s just second nature to them.”

Waldvogel said it is also common for members of the same Narren group to wear the same outfit. In New Ulm, each member of the New Ulm Narren has a unique mask, but in Germany there is one mask style per Narren organization. The uniform costume helps identify which group or family the Narren is from.

Waldvogel said full family involvement is common among the German Narren groups. There are young infants taking part in Narren festivities. It is not unusual for entire families to grow up with the Narren.

“That’s kind of what today is all about,” Waldvogel said of Sunday’s celebration. It was a chance to bring the entire family out. There was polka music, dancing and games for everyone.

Several attendees came dressed traditional German attire. At age 21, Jeremiah Richter wore lederhosen for the first time. He said got the lederhosen for Christmas and wanted to try them out before Bockfest. “It feels right,” Richter said.

Dain’s Dutchmen provided the music for Sunday’s Fasching celebration at the Best Western Plus.

This was his first Fasching celebration, but as a longtime New Ulm resident he had come to enjoy the polka and waltz played by the various bands.

One of the youngest attendees of the Fasching celebration was 3-year-old Nora Beranek. She came wearing a traditional German dirndl and spent the afternoon dancing with the Narren.

“She loves the Narren and polka music,” her father Justin Beranek said. He explained that because he was a drummer for the Wendinger band, she had heard many polka songs and was familiar with the Narren.

Nora Beranek was joined by New Ulm Princess, Adeline Ringhofer. Though older, Ringhofer’s experience with the Narren and Fasching similar to Nora Beranek’s. She too has taken part in several German celebrations alongside the Narren.

“I’ve been around this all my life,” Ringhofer said. “It is a very fun event.”

David Laffrenzen introduces his daughter Lily to New Ulm 1st Princess Adeline Ringhofer during Sunday’s Fasching celebration.

At the same time she realized this was not a typical experience and she was not sure how to explain it to people outside the New Ulm community.

“I am going to college next year and I am not sure how I am going to describe this to people,” she said. She felt Fasching and the Narren were something people needed to see for themselves.

Waldvogel explained the Fasching celebration and Narren groups in terms of the season.

“I think everyone is cooped up during the season and this is a chance to chase away the winter,” he said.

Richard Lucas demonstrates his juggling abilities as part of the Fasching celebration.