mission is to encourage pride and enhance the quality of life for the entire community through charitable giving including scholarship opportunities for local high school students. Contributions from businesses, foundations, estates, individuals, and others will be used to:
• Promote and develop an environment that will benefit future generations.
• Provide grants and scholarships for youths.
• Preserve and celebrate our diverse heritages. The Foundation will keep the Gemütlichkeit "Spirit of Friendship" alive in the greater area throughout the entire year. is a charitable arm of La Crosse Festivals, Inc. The Foundation supports a range of initiatives throughout our community including scholarship opportunities for local high school students. All of this is made possible through a variety of fundraising events benefiting the Gemütlichkeit Foundation. Our primary fundraising event is Forks & Corks, a yearly evening of delicious food and beverage pairings combined with silent and live auctions. The event is open to all individuals and businesses with a passion for supporting and funding scholarship opportunities for area high school students. Forks and Corks will take place Thursday, June 2, 2022, from 5 p.m. in The Cargill Room at The Waterfront in La Crosse. Sponsorship opportunities, tables, and individual tickets may be purchased at (website address coming soon). The Foundation currently awards $10,000 in scholarships each year, including nine $1000 scholarships to area high schools as well as a $1000 scholarship to the yearly winner of the Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest Scholarship Program. Graduating seniors from the following area high schools are encouraged to apply with their school's scholarship committee or guidance office prior to the end-of-March deadline each year.
• Aquinas High School
• Bangor High School
• La Crosse Central High School
• La Crosse Logan High School
• La Crescent High School
• Holmen High School
• Onalaska High School
• Onalaska Luther High School
• West Salem High School
