TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR 2025 SCHMECKFEST
64th annual ‘festival of tasting’ set for April 4-5; see schmeckfest.com for tickets for ethnic Germans-from-Russia meal, musical ‘Jane Eyre’
Tickets are now on sale for the traditional ethnic meal and the musical “Jane Eyre,” both of which will be centerpieces of the 2025 Schmeckfest, an annual celebration of the Germans-from-Russia heritage hosted by Freeman Academy and the larger Freeman community.
Schmeckfest — which means “tasting festival” — will be held on the campus of Freeman Academy Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5. “Jaye Eyre” will also be presented the evening of Thursday, April 3; no other Schmeckfest activities are planned that day.
Meal and musical tickets are available for purchase through schmeckfest.com, or by using the order form published on page 7 of this week’s Courier.
Schmeckfest will also once again feature a series of food demonstrations, food sales and other programming beginning at 1 p.m. both April 4 and 5. That includes the popular Schmeckfest Country Kitchen featuring the sale of baked goods like kuchen and noodles, as well as other homemade items like jams and jellies, cheese pockets and poppy seed rolls.
Sausage sales will once again be held with the opportunity to purchase ala carte the day of Schmeckfest and/or in bulk; preorders will be available in the weeks leading up to Schmeckfest. For more about Schmeckfest sausage, see the “sausage” link in the navigation at schmeckfest.com.
Heritage Hall Museum & Archives will also feature a host of programs and demonstrations both days of Schmeckfest. That will once again include the “Heritage Pickers” series that features short programs relevant to some of the artifacts and collections on display at the museum. Heritage Hall Museum & Archives will also feature ongoing demonstrations beginning at 1 p.m. both days of the festival.
While there is no admission for Schmeckfest itself, there is a fee to visit Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, which gives guests full access to all the programing and demonstrations, the mercantile, the archives, collections and the outbuildings that are all part of the museum’s campus.
History of Schmeckfest
Schmeckfest began in 1959 when the Freeman Junior College Auxiliary chose to serve traditional foods for its 10th anniversary celebration. A buffet was planned featuring dishes from the heritage of the three Mennonite groups that settled in southeastern South Dakota — Low German, Hutters and Schweitzers. They called the event “Schmeckfest” which translated loosely from German, means “festival of tasting.” In a community where most people rarely ate out, some wondered if anyone would pay to eat foods they had at home. But the Auxiliary believed the idea was worth pursuing, so they planned for about 200 – or maybe a few more.
The response to the 1959 event was overwhelming. Only 49 workers and 15 waitresses served more than 1,000 people on a Friday the 13th in March. For many workers, the event was a nightmare as they attempted to keep up with the demand for food by making fleisch kuechle (hamburger in dough pockets), the one item that could be made quickly.
But many people were turned away and resorted to the local cafes, which were also running out of food.
While workers sighed with relief at the end of the event, talk of another Schmeckfest soon began to circulate. A writer in the The Mitchell Daily Republic wrote, “If you ever have another Schmeckfest, we’d like to know about it.” Given the response, the Auxiliary planned for two nights the following year.
From this surprising beginning, Schmeckfest has grown and flourished. Each year something new is added, changed or improved. An advance-sale meal policy began in 1967, along with the tradition of a musical theater production. In 1973, the festival expanded to three nights and in 2005, Schmeckfest moved to two consecutive weekends in response to increasing demand for Friday and Saturday tickets. Demonstrations, displays, art exhibits, music and historic presentations continued to add to the Schmeckfest experience over the years.
Schmeckfest has evolved to become a significant community event that requires months of planning and countless hours of effort by local volunteers. COVID-19 concerns just one week before the 2020 festival brought a swift halt. While the meal, musical and demonstrations were canceled, a hybrid event was developed in its place, and online orders and drive-thru options to purchase the Country Kitchen products and homemade sausage took place that year of 2020.
Similar modified events took place in 2021 and 2022 that allowed would-be Schmeckfest guests an opportunity to purchase baked goods, sausage, and modified to-go Schmeckfest meals.
Schmeckfest returned to its traditional format in 2023 but came with the retirement of the Freeman Academy Auxiliary and a move to one weekend of activities. In place of Auxiliary leadership, the Freeman Academy Board of Directors recruited a coordinator and steering committee of volunteers, many who were involved in past years.
The year 2025 marks the 64th annual Schmeckfest.
Dedication to the mission of Freeman Junior College and Freeman Academy was the driving force behind the inaugural Schmeckfest and the festival remains a major fundraiser for the school. Although 1986 was the final year for Freeman Junior College, the same commitment to Christian education drives Schmeckfest today as proceeds from this annual event continue to provide support for Freeman Academy, which serves students in grades 1-12.
Schmeckfest is a treasured tradition and an annual highlight that crosses ethnic, religious and philosophic lines and includes people of all ages and occupations. It is a cooperative community event that binds people together. Through food, fellowship and music, it enables Freeman to share with others what it means to be a community.
