How much does Wurstfest cost a New Braunfels household on a Tuesday night? Nothing at the gate. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Alex Meixner Band plays the Grosse Zelt twice, the San Antonio Dutchmen close out the Wursthalle, and admission costs zero. On Saturday, Nov. 7, two adults buying at the gate pay $60 to walk onto the same grounds.
The 65th Wurstfest runs Nov. 6–15 at Landa Park. The official site prints "Free Admission Mon–Thu" across its banner. If you live a few minutes from the Comal, the four free nights are more than a discounted slice of the festival. They carry much of the lineup the weekends are built on.
The price grid, day by day
The Community Impact festival guide published in September lists the hours and admission for each day.
Date | Hours | Admission, online / gate |
|---|---|---|
Fri., Nov. 6 | 4–11 p.m. | $15 / $20 |
Sat., Nov. 7 | 11 a.m.–midnight | $25 / $30 |
Sun., Nov. 8 | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. | $15 / $20 |
Mon., Nov. 9 | 5–10 p.m. | Free |
Tue., Nov. 10 | 5–10 p.m. | Free |
Wed., Nov. 11 | 5–10 p.m. | Free |
Thu., Nov. 12 | 5–11 p.m. | Free |
Fri., Nov. 13 | 5–11 p.m. | $15 / $20 |
Sat., Nov. 14 | 11 a.m.–midnight | $25 / $30 |
Sun., Nov. 15 | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. | $15 / $20, free after 3 p.m. |
Children 12 and under get in free every day. The prices match last year's. A 2025 Herald-Zeitung ticket story listed the same online and gate tiers and the same free Monday through Thursday.
The table also holds a fifth free window that's easy to miss. On closing Sunday, Nov. 15, admission is free after 3 p.m. That afternoon the polka contest starts at 3:30 p.m. in the Wursthalle. It's the one stretch of a weekend day that costs nothing to attend.
What the free nights put on stage
The official 2026 entertainment schedule runs five stages every weeknight from 5:10 p.m. to 10 p.m. Here is how the four nights break down.
Monday, Nov. 9. Kerry Christensen Master Yodeler opens the Kleine Zelt at 5 p.m. and returns at 7:30 p.m., trading sets with Auf Geht's Musik. In the Grosse Zelt, the Alex Meixner Band alternates with Die Bayrischen Hiatamadln. The Lederhosen Junkies, the local polka band Community Impact singles out, play the Stelzenplatz twice around the Happy Hour Oktoberfest Band. Bavarski, listed as "Barvarski" on the daily schedule, and then the Klaberheads hold the Wursthalle, and Pivo & Polka plays the Stelzenhaus all evening.
Tuesday, Nov. 10. Christensen yodels again in the Kleine Zelt, this time alternating with Das Ist Lustig. Meixner and Die Bayrischen Hiatamadln repeat Monday's Grosse Zelt rotation. In the Wursthalle, the Cloverleaf Orchestra plays from 5:10 to 7:15 p.m. and the San Antonio Dutchmen play from 7:35 to 10 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 11. This is the night with the most going on besides music. At 6:30 p.m. the St. Martin Lantern Parade fills 20 minutes in the Grosse Zelt between Meixner and Terry Cavanagh & Alpine Express. Yodel Blitz plays the Kleine Zelt between two Lederhosen Junkies sets. The Chardon Polka Band and The Billie Jeans share the Stelzenplatz. For younger festivalgoers, the Kinderhalle alternates Rebecca Jane Huck and Dallas Puppet Theater from 5 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Community Impact, citing a Wurstfest Facebook post, reports a veterans salute at 7 p.m. in the Wursthalle that evening. The printed schedule doesn't list the salute and shows Das Ist Lustig in the Wursthalle until 7:10 p.m., so check the posted times before you plan around it.
Thursday, Nov. 12. The Wursthalle has the strongest lineup of the free week. Seven Dutchmen Orchestra plays from 5:10 to 7:10 p.m., and Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra follows from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Meixner plays the Grosse Zelt around a Die Schlauberger set, DJ Nils takes a slot between the Happy Players in the Kleine Zelt, and Pivo & Polka returns to the Stelzenhaus. Gates stay open until 11 p.m. on Thursday, an hour longer than Monday through Wednesday.
Two things repeat across the week. The Alex Meixner Band, the act chosen for the Nov. 6 opening ceremony, plays the Grosse Zelt on all four free nights. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the River Area hosts Masskrugstemmen, the stein-holding competition, at 7:30 p.m. That is practice for the 2026 USSA Texas Steinholding State Championship Tournament Finals, set for 2 p.m. on Nov. 15.
What's new for the 65th, and which parts reach the weeknights
Wurstfest President Marc Allen described the 65th anniversary this way to Community Impact:
"In honor of our 65th anniversary, we are pulling out all the stops to ensure our patrons have the best of the wurst' times."
The new features he listed are on the grounds for all ten days. They include:
- A Weingarten in the hydro plant near Gate One, pouring German wines and premium U.S. selections
- Three new beers on tap: Modelo, Paulaner Pils and Weihenstephan
- Rocky Mountain Crepes as a new food vendor
- Expanded Fun Biz concessions, plus a new trailer in the carnival area selling nachos and street tacos
None of the sources give separate weeknight hours for the Weingarten. The sausage-making demonstrations held there are weekend events, though Community Impact and the official schedule list different times for them.
Bring a card on free nights too. All admissions and bar purchases are cashless, by tap-to-pay, credit or debit. Other small-business vendors on the grounds take both cash and card.
On weeknights the free gate also shifts where the spending goes. Twenty-six local nonprofits run food, drink and goods sales at the festival, and Allen told Community Impact that most of them make their annual budget from Wurstfest. On a free Tuesday, the money a household would have spent on admission can go to the groups behind the booths.
Getting there on a weeknight
Free nights still bring traffic around Landa Park, and the City of New Braunfels traffic and parking notice posted Sept. 4 sets the rules. For residents, the main points are:
- Landa Street loses its westbound lane. It closes to vehicles, though not to pedestrians, from Zink Street to Landa Park Drive. On Monday, Nov. 9 through Friday, Nov. 13, the closure runs from 3 p.m. to midnight. On Saturdays it runs from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.
- Park at the Comal County Fairgrounds, 701 E. Common St. Parking there is free, and the shuttle to the festival gate costs $10 for riders 13 and older. Kids 12 and under ride free. The Wurstfest Park 'N Ride page lists the weekday lot opening at 4 p.m. for Nov. 9–13, with the first shuttle at 4:45 p.m. and shuttles running continuously until closing.
- Uber and Lyft use Mill Race Run. The designated pickup and drop-off is at the Landa Park Pavilion on Mill Race Run, reached through Gate 2.
- Large vehicles take a set route. Charter buses, party buses and limos are routed from Loop 337 and Common Street onto Union Street, then W. Torrey Street and Elizabeth Avenue, to drop-off on Hinman Island. The route avoids low-clearance bridges.
On a free night, the $10 shuttle fare is the largest fixed cost for an adult who drives in. Parking itself is free, and the city notes that parking in and around Landa Park is limited. Hotel shuttles run only on Fridays and Saturdays, so they don't serve the free nights.
How busy the grounds get
The Herald-Zeitung reported 2025 attendance at 221,000, about 5% above the year before, according to that year's festival general chairman. The paper's 2025 wrap-up didn't break that total down by day. The schedule shows how the week is built, though. Weekdays open at 5 p.m., after the workday. Weekend days open at 11 a.m. Several of the best-known names on the 2026 roster, including Meixner, Sturr, the Seven Dutchmen Orchestra and the San Antonio Dutchmen, all play in that Monday-to-Thursday window.
Each weeknight set fits between dinner and a reasonable bedtime: Christensen at 5 p.m., the lantern parade at 6:30 p.m., Masskrugstemmen at 7:30 p.m., and Sturr's set ending at 10 p.m. on Thursday. All of it takes place a short drive or shuttle ride from most New Braunfels homes, and none of it requires a ticket.
At JBGoodwin REALTORS®, we're glad when neighbors know about things like the free week at Wurstfest. If friends or family are thinking about a move to New Braunfels, our New Braunfels team can show them the Comal side of town and the neighborhoods around it. Contact Us whenever you're ready to talk.
