TO SCHMECKFEST!

FOR THE 64TH TIME IN THE LAST 67 YEARS, Freeman’s traditional ‘festival of tasting’ generated a spirit of community and commonality — even among those with different backgrounds — that has helped define the annual event. And, once again, food, music and heritage was front and center.

The lure of Schmeckfest, which has drawn tens of thousands of guests to the Freeman community since it debuted in 1959, remains strong.

Just ask Jamie Cressman.

Cressman, a resident of Berne, Ind., who learned to know the Freeman community through his 28-year marriage to Karen Ries (the late daughter of Lefty and JoAnn Ries), had scheduled what he thought would be a relatively quick trip Wednesday, April 2 to get here in plenty of time for the 64th Schmeckfest Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5.

But the weather had something to say about that.

Cressman’s scheduled flight on American Airlines from Fort Wayne through Chicago and onto Sioux Falls was diverted on its way to O’Hare because of storms and rerouted to Dallas. But because of bad weather and a ground-stop there, the plane had to circle over Louisiana while the storm passed, land in Shreveport for fuel before finally arriving at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

His new flight was scheduled to leave Dallas for Sioux Falls at 7:40 p.m. Wednesday, but that never happened. After a number of delays, at 1:20 a.m. on Thursday, the flight was canceled.

“The plane was there,” Cressman said, “but the pilots were out of time and couldn’t fly because of FFA regulations.”

After being told he wouldn’t be able to get out of Dallas until Friday, Cressman — who had planned an extended, week-long stay in Freeman — tried to find something else through Southwest, United and Delta, even if it meant going through Minneapolis, Denver, Omaha or even his home airport of Fort Wayne, but there was nothing.

“Everything was backed up because of the weather,” he said. “Then I ran into a doctor from Sioux Falls and I said, ‘Why don’t we just drive?’ He asked me how far it was and I said, ‘I have no idea; I just know it’s a long drive.’”

The doctor, who ultimately decided not to go, booked a car and Cressman found a father and a son from Omaha — also delayed in Dallas — and asked if they wanted to tag along, to which they said yes.

It was now 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

By 7 a.m. — one hour after the rental car agency opened for the day — the three men were headed north for the Upper Midwest. Ten hours after that the father and son were dropped off in Omaha, and 13 hours later Cressman arrived in Sioux Falls, dropped off the car at the rental agency and was picked up by his brother-in-law, Dean.

He finally arrived in Freeman, not early Wednesday afternoon as scheduled, but late Thursday night.

“It was all weather related and there was nothing I could do,” said Cressman, who tries to get back for Schmeckfest every few years. “I tell people it was an adventure — just part of the trip.”

And the hassle, he said, was well worth it.

“I love the museum, I like the food and the play was phenomenal,” he said. “But just to reconnect with people I only see every couple years — family and friends I’ve known for 40 years — that’s why it’s fun to come back.”

Cressman said calling off the trip altogether was never an option.

“I still wouldn’t have gotten home until Friday afternoon, so I figured I might as well come here for five days,” he said. “I leave Wednesday to go home; maybe I’ll be home by the weekend.”

There are likely other stories of adventure from people who came to Freeman last week for the community’s annual festival of taste, smell and heritage, and — adventure or not — the common denominator was the experience.

Michelle Dick and son Jesse, 2 years and 8 months old, enjoy the Schmeckfest supper with the rest of their family Saturday night. Both Friday and Saturday’s meal were sold out, with 1,000 guests enjoying the rich German food.

The 2025 Schmeckfest was not unlike the festival that returned post-Covid in 2023, with two full afternoons and evenings of plenty to do.

The hallmark of the festival on which it was founded almost 70 years ago — the ethnic supper — catered to a sold-out crowd of 1,000 guests each evening.

The musical, “Jane Eyre,” played to large crowds both Friday and Saturday night.

Heritage Hall Museum, which hosts the majority of the demonstrations — including short, live presentations featuring a look into something heritage-related — was abuzz with activity both afternoons.

And the Sterling Hall auditorium, which houses the popular Country Kitchen and also functions as “home base” for many, had the feel of a large family reunion as folks of all ages gathered for food and fellowship.

“This is the highlight of their year,” said Dr. Nathan Bates, who teaches German Language at the University of South Dakota, brought his first class to Schmeckfest in 2018 and returned in 2023, 2024 and again last week. “We get a generous grant from the USD Foundation to be able to do this and I’m trying to integrate more local German heritage into the curriculum and show them that German isn’t just in Europe, it’s all over the world.”

Bates, who last week brought 14 students to Schmeckfest, noted that Heritage Hall Museum & Archives and the university have had a productive relationship over the years, and the community is a valuable vessel for education.

“This shows (the students) that local is also global,” he said.

Among those reveling last week in all the festival has to offer was Troy True, who first learned about Freeman Academy and Schmeckfest just a few years ago and is today in his second full year as the school’s enrollment director and dorm supervisor.

“It was amazing,” he said of his first impression of Schmeckfest. “I thought this would just be a school activity, but it’s the whole community. It’s everybody doing all these things — just to see the collaboration is so great.”

Schmeckfest has, over many years, been described as “a machine” — a nod to the efficiency with which it is executed by hundreds of volunteers. And while things have changed and changed again, from a two-day to a three-day to a two-weekend and, now, back to a two-day festival, much remains the same.

The red and white checkered pattern, in place as early as 1960, is still prominent.

The German meal, today served as a buffet rather than family-style (save the green bean and noodle soup) remains popular thanks to its familiar menu featuring sausage, sauerkraut, cheese buttons, stewed beef, kuchen and poppyseed rolls.

Demonstrations by artisans not only continue but have evolved, with ethnic foods taking the “spotlight” through live interaction in Sterling Hall and thanks to the “heritage pickers” in Heritage Hall Museum & Archives.

Sausage sales and baked goods purchased at the Country Kitchen — all donated by supporters of Schmeckfest — remain popular.

The musical continues; read more about “Jane Eyre” in Section B.

And the spirit of fellowship, which is so worth the travel for folks like Jamie Cressman, even if it means an overnight drive, is as strong as ever.

And all of it will happen again next year.

he 65th Schmeckfest is scheduled for April 10 and 11, 2026.