ELBERTA, Ala. — The Elberta German Sausage Festival is getting new management. The Town of Elberta and its municipal volunteer fire department will take responsibility for organizing the longtime community event, with the nonprofit Elberta Community Partners stepping aside after years at the helm.
The change will begin with the October 2026 festival. The Town recently told Elberta Community Partners (ECP) that it preferred that town employees and members of the municipal volunteer fire department coordinate and operate future festivals. ECP says it will cooperate with the transition rather than fight it.
How the Festival Reached a Crossroads
The Elberta Volunteer Fire Department became a municipal department under Town control in August 2025. Before that change, the festival had traditionally been managed by the department, and it continues to serve as a community celebration and fundraiser that primarily benefits the fire service.
ECP Chairman Seth Fuller said the organization believes its leadership is well suited to run the event because its members have nearly 100 years of combined experience with the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department and in festival management. Still, the group chose not to challenge the Town’s decision.
“While we do feel that ECP is better suited to manage this event due to our leadership’s nearly 100-year combined experience as members of the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department and managing the festival, we also feel that it is in nobody’s best interest to fight,” Fuller said.
A ‘Clean Slate’ for October
Organizers said they had not met deadlines to enter into agreements with suppliers, entertainment providers and others for the October festival. That means the Town will receive what ECP describes as a clean slate and can make its own decisions about the event.
The Town and the municipal fire department will now be responsible for the festival, which will continue to benefit the fire department. ECP plans to work with town officials over the coming weeks to ensure an orderly transfer of operations, and it said it will not take actions that could impose obligations on the Town or create unnecessary financial costs during the transition.
Funds held in festival accounts by EVFD Inc. and ECP will be transferred to the Town as soon as practical after written agreements are completed. ECP also plans to transfer the festival trademarks and wordmarks it currently holds, and intends to hand over control of a new festival phone app and related information once a written agreement is reached.
What Vendors and Sponsors Should Know
The change could affect vendors and sponsors differently. ECP said it has a verbal agreement with the Town indicating that officials intend to honor the terms and conditions accepted by arts and crafts vendors when they submitted their applications.
The situation involving food vendors remains unsettled. ECP said it is waiting to learn whether the Town can honor the terms previously agreed upon by those vendors, and organizers promised updates as more information becomes available.
All festival sponsors have been refunded. ECP said it does not know whether the Town will establish its own sponsorship program or what it might include. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
Praise for the Fire Department
Despite the management disagreement, Fuller expressed strong support for the Town of Elberta Volunteer Fire Department and praised Chief Vanbrimmer and Deputy Chief Staimpel.
“Chief Vanbrimmer and Deputy Chief Staimpel are exceptional men, and have a great passion for what they do,” Fuller said. “Both of them basically grew up in the firehouse, and their leadership of the fire department should make the entire community proud.”
ECP encouraged residents to continue supporting the department and the festival under its new management, and urged people to consider volunteering with the fire department, which is recruiting new members.
Fuller said the transition closes one chapter in the festival’s history while offering the opportunity for another under the Town’s management. Although ECP will no longer operate the event, the organization said it plans to continue collaborating with the Town on other community initiatives.
“We wish nothing but the best for this event, and we would never do anything to harm something that we, and many others, have all worked so hard over the past almost 3 decades to help build,” Fuller said.