While the various bands play traditional music for two full days, the stands, staffed by volunteers, sell all sorts of beers and authentic German schnitzels and pretzels alongside. Just outside the main room where families and cultural enthusiasts are seated and listening to the vibe of the accordion splitting through the air, different stands from many different cultures line the wall of the main hallway.
The festival took place on Jan. 16 & 17, at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center. Historically, it has taken place on a Friday and Saturday in the middle of January. Originally, it was held on 25th Street and was closer to a parade. However, since the Ogden Eccles Conference Center opened in 1997, it has been held there.
The Hof German Festival first debuted in 1986, when Scott Sneddon proposed the idea to the Ogden City Council, so the relationship between Ogden and its sister city, Hof, could be grown. Ogden and Hof being sister cities dates even further back to 1954. President Eisenhower wanted to create peace by fostering friendships between citizens of different countries and not just governments. The Ogden-Hof relationship is significant because it was the first sister city bond between an American and German city post World War II. Fast forward to 1986, Scott Sneddon wanted to grow this existing bond, so he initiated the Hof German Festival. It went through and has been held annually since then.
“It’s actually in my blood, my heritage; my great grandpa came from Germany,” Kandra Smith, the owner of Tatzel Treasures and Crafts, said. “We love selling oddities and curiosities.”
Not only do German people come to share their culture at the festival, but other cultures come to share theirs through it as well. Arith is a part of the company Afghan Gem, which has a team of craftspeople in Afghanistan and Pakistan. These people create handmade jewelry from the gems present in the region, and that jewelry is imported to America where it is sold at stands by people like Arith. Their goal is to connect ancient culture to the modern world.
“We do use molds but these were all handmade,” Arith said.
Though Arith works with a global team to distribute his handcrafted products, others work completely alone. They devote hours to their product and distribute them. Gabby Ford is one of those people. She spends hours crocheting a variety of things from hats to full dresses. She sells items at different events and has a storefront in Salt Lake City.
“I do it myself,” Ford said. “The hardest item I would say, are the dresses.”
Because they are selling at the same events every year, the standowners change their products each time in order to keep interest. They do this by exploring different parts of the culture they mainly share through their items. Kandra, for example, researches other parts of her own culture in order to expand her inventory, because she is into selling “weird” oddities. One thing she did find was a trapped devil in a glass that is culturally significant to a city in Germany.
Each year, the people running the stand have to get more creative to keep up with the demand of selling novel, handcrafted items.
“I don’t have anything ‘German-weird’ yet, but next year we’re gonna try to,” Smith said.
