Elberta to celebrate sausage on March 30
Elberta to celebrate sausage on March 30
Combine 8,000 pounds of sausage made from a secret recipe developed by the founding fathers of Elberta with 200 venders selling everything from custom belt buckles to french roasted peanuts. Throw in a few hundred kegs of beer – both domestic and German – served in the festival’s own Bier Garten.
Add entertainment, a full fledged carnival and almost years of tradition and you have it – The Bi-Annual Elberta Original German Sausage Festival, scheduled next on Saturday, March 30 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in Elberta Town Park. The park is located just north of Elberta’s only traffic light on Hwy. 98 (just follow the crowd or 13052 Main St. on GPS).
Besides Elberta’s famous German sausage & sauerkraut, the event will include continuous entertainment for adults and children. Other scrumptious foods will include German style filled cabbage, potato salad, goulash, red beans & rice, hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, ice cream, popcorn and peanuts.
There will be baked goods as well as arts & crafts for sale, and volunteers will serve plenty of other non-alcoholic beverages in addition to beer. The Bellview Stumpfiddle Band and the North End Stompers traditionally perform. Cloggers. Polka, country and German music are also part of the entertainment line-up.
The festival usually attracts close to 30,000 visitors. Public parking will be available and those with disabilities can get access from the west side of the festival, where volunteers with golf carts will be on hand to help them get into the festival grounds. Call 251-986-5805 or visit sausagefest.elbertafire. com or facebook for more info.
The sausage festival is a town fund-raiser, first spearheaded by Elberta’s Volunteer Fire Department in 1978. Proceeds are used for improving not only the fire department, but the town as well. Although the recipe has changed somewhat over the years, the original secret recipe for Elberta’s famous sausage is credited to Alfred Stucki, who managed Elberta’s Locker Plant from 1953 until his death in 1973. Local non-profits also benefit from the festival through booth sales and parking lot fees. The city’s signature event is held the last Saturdays in March and October.
300 E 16th Ave., | Gulf Shores, AL 36542 | 251.968.9873 | www.gsboe.org
P.O. Box 3908 Gulf Shores, AL 36547
For Immediate Release Contact
March 7, 2024 Dr. Matt Akin
Superintendent
251.968.9873
Gulf Shores Teacher, Amanda Talantis, Earns “Best of Green Schools” Award
Awards Spotlights Organizations and Individuals Dedicated to Sustainability in Schools
Gulf Shores, AL – Amanda Talantis has been named a 2024 Best of Green Schools Award recipient for the K-12 Educator category, presented by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Schools National Network. The awards celebrate the hard work being done by people, schools, campuses, and organizations to push the green school movement forward.
Talantis teaches in the Sustainability and Hospitality and Tourism Academies at Gulf Shores High School. She has dedicated 17 years to educating young people and creating opportunities for them to pursue their passions. In her courses, she focuses on ecotourism and sustainability to help create a more sustainable and green school system, community, and region. Talantis has been an instrumental figure in transforming Gulf Shores City Schools into a district that prioritizes all tenets of sustainability and her collaborative efforts have garnered the school district national attention as a USDOE Green Ribbon School (District). She lives by the belief in helping develop responsible young citizens who will promote sustainability for future generations.
Talantis also leads the “Small Town, Big Garden” Project, and the vegetables her students grow are prepped and served in a variety of recipes in the culinary kitchen and in the district’s cafeterias. She serves on the GSHS and GSCS Sustainability Teams and Nutrition and Wellness Committee; leads the Earth Day Team, and teaches yoga to students and faculty. Her many innovative programs include a farm-to-table community event; a greenhouse with hundreds of hydroponic plants; recycling initiative; raised beds and gardens; fresh student lunches, salad bars, snacks, and smoothies from the student-grown gardens; the Dolphin Walk program for fitness; yoga classes; the Earth Day Festival; sand dune restoration at Gulf State Park; and standing desks for interested teachers, just to name a few.
“Amanda inspires students and colleagues daily with her passion and enthusiasm for place-based, hands-on, sustainability-focused learning,” said Jessica Sampley, Academies and CTE Director at Gulf Shores City Schools. “She and her students often work after school and on weekends to maintain projects and plan for events, collaborating with other departments to offer sustainability-related projects within our school system. She is a dynamic teacher and an impactful leader in our school system and community who connects with community partners, including local farms and nonprofits, to provide additional opportunities for students to learn how to live sustainably. She also collaborates with teachers across the school district to vertically align sustainability projects and initiatives. Her contributions have played an immense part in setting the culture and values of Gulf Shores City Schools and have directly influenced the Gulf Shores community.”
300 E 16th Ave., | Gulf Shores, AL 36542 | 251.968.9873 | www.gsboe.org
P.O. Box 3908 Gulf Shores, AL 36547
“The 2024 Best of Green Schools honorees are incredible individuals and organizations who are doing the extraordinary work of preparing our schools and students to adapt to and meet our climate challenges,” said Anisa Heming, director at the Center for Green Schools. “We hope that their work inspires others to join the green schools movement. There are so many schools, districts, educators, and volunteers who are central to the work that we do and share our vision of healthier and more sustainable learning environments for all students.”
This year’s awardees represent thought leaders and practitioners who are at the forefront of creating sustainable learning environments and opportunities for children across this nation,” said Jennifer Seydel, executive director at the Green Schools National Network. “Their commitment to educating for sustainability is reflected in their commitment to what children learn, where children learn, and how children learn matters in our efforts to create a sustainable and just future for all.”
The Center for Green Schools and Green Schools National Network received hundreds of nominations of individuals and organizations that have made an impact in advancing green schools in 2023. The 2024 recipients of the Best of Green Schools Award were announced during the Green Schools Conference in Santa Fe, N.M.