Lederhosen will gather dust, fixings for potato pancakes will go untouched and accordions will go sadly un-oompahed this year as the annual Porta Westfalica Festival in Waterloo was canceled for 2026.

The organizing committee which consists of a collaboration between the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, Waterloo Lions Club and Sister Cities of Porta Loo long upheld the summer Tuesday night tradition which would have celebrated its 44th such festival this summer.

Chris Herrmann, executive director with the chamber, pointed to the event’s inflatable attractions as the biggest and final nail in the coffin for the already struggling tradition.

She recalled how the inflatables arrived late two years ago and left early last year.

As the committee pursued them for this year, they encountered staffing problems as well as staggering bids that would leave the organizers with barely even the scant profits they’ve seen in recent years.

“We could not find another alternative for something to attract the kids, and we felt that if we didn’t have something for the kids, we wouldn’t have something to attract families, and it would hurt the overall festival which has been struggling for the last few years anyway,” Herrmann said.

She added the decision had been floated among the three organizing groups since January.

Herrmann further described the issues organizers had trying to bring the children’s attractions back for another year, reiterating how any inflatable rental companies they looked into simply weren’t willing to provide staff to oversee the bounce house and other features.

“We have a hard time staffing what few things we have to staff with volunteers,” Herrmann said. “And if we were to have to take those inflatables and staff them ourselves, I just don’t think we would have enough volunteers, and we also didn’t want to be responsible for the liability of that, if our volunteers have to be responsible for everyone’s child.”

George Obernagel with the Waterloo Lions Club had much the same to say, describing issues with getting folks to staff the event as a whole while the inflatable problem in specific was the latest and biggest hurdle.

“The problem is getting things for the youth. The inflatable people that we hired, you can’t get them no more,” Obernagel said. “They will rent the inflatables to you, but you would have to man them, and we don’t want to take the liability and the manpower.”

Obernagel further remarked on the event straying somewhat over the years from its roots and original charm, as a key element in the past was hosting visitors from Porta Westfalica, Germany.

“It’s not feasible to do it anymore, and I feel like the purpose of it, when we had it for Germans here, we haven’t had Germans here for a long time. What purpose does it serve?” Obernagel said.

Deb Cummins, who represents Sister Cities of Porta Loo on the organizing committee, likewise bemoaned the struggles this event has faced as the organizations have been largely unable to bring in younger volunteers.

“That’s the problem for all of us. It’s the same people that work all the time, and we’re getting older,” Cummins said. “I’m 75 now, and I’ve been doing this since the 90s… It’s hard to get people to work two hours.”

She also spoke to the event’s waning attendance, remarking on how fewer and fewer potato pancakes had been sold over the years.

Though she expressed an appreciation for why the organizers opted to cancel the event, Cummins was especially disappointed in the loss.

She spoke about how the event was always kept on a Tuesday both for the sake of tradition and to avoid the big, out-of-town crowds that might arrive on the weekend, ultimately trying to keep things small and local.

“I will admit, the interest has gone down, and people will say, ‘Why do you do this on a Tuesday?’ because they don’t know the story of how the Germans came over that first time and they had a barbecue for them at the courthouse the night before they left,” Cummins said. “They wanted to do something, so they had a barbecue, and they invited the public to come… They had such a good time they said, ‘Well let’s do that next year even though the Germans aren’t here. Let’s do it again.’”

She further spoke fondly about her years helping with the event. Cummins recalled getting to see the parade on just two occasions, and on the years that her daughter played in the band she would try to rush away for just a moment to see her marching.

Cummins also noted the festival has long been the biggest fundraiser for Sister Cities, and it’s now unclear where they will be able to procure funds to help facilitate their student exchanges.

Porta Fest celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022 after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event brought plenty of crowds to the Monroe County Courthouse grounds over the decades, enjoying polka music, potato pancakes with applesauce and, of course, plenty of beer.

While the chamber and the Lions have floated the idea of a chili cook-off to help replace the festival – likely at another time of year to avoid the summer heat – those locals who feel a particular enthusiasm for their German heritage are sure to feel quite the loss with the end of Porta Westfalica Fest.