BELGIUM, Wis. — Hundreds will gather to celebrate their Luxembourgish heritage with food and drink at what many describe as one of the country's largest family reunions.
For people who live in Belgium, Wisconsin, the Luxembourg Fest weekend is simply referred to as "fest," held annually on the second weekend of August for the last 39 years.
was at the first Luxembourg Fest and has continued the tradition ever since. Like many people from this area, Vuchholz can trace his ancestry straight back to Luxembourg.
"It started with my parents coming here and just passing that tradition down," Vuchholz said. "You stand where we're sitting this weekend, and you'll know 50 people without turning your head," Vuchholz said.
It's for this reason that this otherwise humble festival in a small village brings in food, beer, and people from across the globe.
Watch: Luxembourg Fest in Belgium brings together generations of families to celebrate heritage
Denise Dimmer is responsible for helping plan the annual träipen (treipen in English) eating contest Saturday afternoon that organizers call the world's largest.
"You get a minute to eat [the plate of träipen]. If you eat more than that, we have another plate ready," Dimmer said.
While the festival includes traditional elements like a parade on Saturday morning, attendees say it's the community connections that make it special.
"I've met people here where all-the-sudden, they say 'I've got one of those names in my lineage.' I think a lot of people really come because they want to meet family," Dimmer said said.
The main events take place Saturday, but Luxembourg Fest continues through the weekend with Sunday Mass and a Sheepshead card game tournament.
The full weekend schedule is here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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