2024 Boar's Head Festival
- Friday, Dec. 6, 2024
- Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024
- Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024
We encourage anyone from CUAA to the community to be involved in The Boar’s Head Festival. Join us by contacting Amanda Williams, Director of Theatre and Kreft Arts, at Amanda.Williams@cuaa.edu.
What is the Boar’s Head Festival?
Each December, students, faculty, staff and community members come together to enact medieval Christmas traditions and the story of Christ’s birth in this moving spectacle. Beginning in 1978 through the vision of three Concordia professors—Paul Foelber, John Sturmfels and Quentin Marino—the Boar’s Head Festival has become a treasured memory for many. It remains a vibrant and living tradition as it continues to profess the wonder of the Christmas miracle.
A brief history of the Boar's Head Festival
While the tradition of the Boar’s Head Festival dates back to the 14th century in England, the actual symbol of serving boar can be traced to ancient Roman times when boar was the preferred dish at great feasts. In medieval England, Christians considered the wild boar to be a ferocious beast and a symbol for evil. They adapted the Roman feast custom of serving a boar’s head on a platter to represent the triumph of the Christ child over evil.
In 1963 CUAA; originally "Concordia Lutheran Junior College", hires Dr. Paul Foelber as its first choir director. None of what follows would have happened without this genesis event. By 1978, Dr. Foelber, professor John Sturmfels, and professor Quentin Marino join forces to begin the Boar’s Head Festival tradition at CUAA.
The Boar’s Head fever spreads through the campus and community, making it one of the best-loved traditions in CUAA history. Through the years, more than 65,000 people have attended the festival. In 2018, after 40 consecutive years and more than 140 consecutive performances, Dr. Neil Skov, emeritus professor of science, retires from the role of Good King Wenceslas. He hand-picks Jonathon Neuendorf to take over the role.
Photo credit: Primatum, Prof. Marilyn Beyer, faculty editor.
CUAA (known at its founding as Concordia Lutheran Junior College) hires Dr. Paul Foelber as its first choir director. None of what follows would have happened without this genesis event.
Foelber, professor John Sturmfels, and professor Quentin Marino join forces to begin the Boar’s Head Festival tradition at CUAA.
Some background: “While the tradition of the Boar’s Head Festival dates back to the 14th century in England, the actual symbol of serving boar can be traced to ancient Roman times when boar was the preferred dish at great feasts. In medieval England, Christians considered the wild boar to be a ferocious beast and a symbol for evil. They adapted the Roman feast custom of serving a boar’s head on a platter to represent the triumph of the Christ child over evil.”
Boar’s Head fever spreads through the campus and community, making it one of the best-loved traditions in CUAA history. Through the years, more than 65,000 people have attended the festival.
After 40 consecutive years and more than 140 consecutive performances, Dr. Neil Skov, emeritus professor of science, retires from the role of Good King Wenceslas. He hand-picks Jonathon Neuendorf to take over the role.
The Festival takes a one-year hiatus due to the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in much wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is the first time the event has been canceled in its history, but Concordia’s Choir recorded 25 minutes of the most beloved numbers from the Boar’s Head Festival for enthusiasts to still enjoy from home during the Christmas season.