Another fantastic reason to visit the beach during the fall each year, on top of the no crowds and perfect weather, is all of the festivals. It seems there is a new one every weekend somewhere in the community. This year I am making an effort to go to as many as possible! My wonderful husband has agreed to suffer through them with me even though he is not a fan of big crowds. He does love German Sausage so I try to pick the day or time for each festival that is the least crowded.
For the Elberta German Sausage Festival we found the earlier the better is best to go. The Festival actually started at 8 AM. I probably could have talked my husband into breakfast German sausage but we chose to sleep in a bit that Saturday. We made it to Elberta by 10:30 AM or so. Elberta is a small town like you see in the movies with a pretty main street and a children’s park. This town is one of two between Foley and the Florida state line. The town is maybe 10 minutes from Foley, to the east toward Florida on State Hwy 98. This means it is about 45 minutes to an hour from Fort Morgan. It is totally worth every minute of the drive though.
Just a few notes; bring cash, and walking shoes, (I suggest closed toes shoes for maneuvering in the crowd because of the loose dirt everywhere.) You may have to pay to park you can find a few parking spots here and there that are not paid, we chose the Post Office. It was just a couple of blocks walk down to the festival grounds. If you have kids pay to park close because traffic progressively worsens throughout the day. They did have an option this year to pay for sausage with a debit or credit card. This was the extra-long line to wait for your wonderful sausage. The sausages were $5 each and the same no matter if you bought a large number.
Once we got to the grounds we realized the festival was set up in the park and town square. To the west they were grilling the sausage filling the air with the most amazing scent. It made our stomach growl just smelling it. To the north side of the square the other food vendors were set up. Blooming onions, Funnel Cakes, Italian Ice, Cotton Candy, and lemonade to just name a few of the things you can add to your sausage meal. The vendors were near the middle of the square with all sorts of arts and crafts. In the very center were live musicians playing in the gazebo while people danced around it in the park. It was very fun and all I could do not to grab my husband and dance too.
We did a little exploring prior to getting our sausages and explored some of the vendor booths. There was everything from a booth with unique cell phone covers, to bird feeders and lamps made from recycled glassware, homemade baby quilts, and anything an Alabama Fan could want. One of my favorite booths was an artist who made unique creations from old car license plates from across the country. They were so unique and colorful! There were also some local politicians out campaigning, and local wildlife conservation groups and local food and honey. It was everything you would think a small town festival would be.
We ran in to a couple of people we knew as we explored the booths of hand-made jewelry, wind chimes and knitted and crocheted scarves. At this point we decided to stop and wait in the sausage line. We waited about 10 minutes and slowly moved toward the open window where the wonderful people of Elberta put together each person’s sausage order individually. She asked us how many we wanted and if we wanted them to go or with sour kraut. A sweet local with a smile for us and the camera!
We enjoyed out Sausage dogs each with our chosen condiments from the condiment station. Then we walked through and enjoyed the rest of the vendors and got a couple of Christmas presents. Just before we headed home we got a Funnel Cake. My husband had never had one before so this was a special treat for him. Over all this was such a fun day for the two of us.
It was a lot like we were dating again. My recommendation is if there is a festival, especially if it is a German Sausage Festival. This is, “a do not miss” amazing fall festival. See you soon.
