Jasper Strassenfest Half Pot adds online sales for 2026 raffle

Indiana residents can now buy Half Pot tickets online, extending Jasper Strassenfest’s biggest raffle beyond the Big Red Booth in front of Ruler Foods.

Committee members and Vincennes University Jasper representatives began selling tickets at set hours Thursday, July 2. Booth sales run Thursday and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon through July 26, with the booth closed for the Fourth of July holiday and extended hours planned during and after Strassenfest.

The festival itself is scheduled for July 30 through Aug. 2 in downtown Jasper. The Half Pot ticket window runs from June 1 through Aug. 12, and the drawing is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, at the Jasper Chamber of Commerce. Tickets range from $5 to $100, buyers must be 18 or older, and members of Jasper Strassenfest Inc. and their households are not eligible to enter or win.

The raffle is subject to Indiana charity-gaming laws and Indiana Gaming Commission oversight. One winner will be chosen with ASCEND state-certified raffle software.

In 2025, the winning ticket paid out $77,900, and the Strassenfest Committee sent $45,548.62 to the VU Jasper Scholastic Excellence Fund. Vincennes University says the scholarship covers full tuition and fees for one year, along with a $500-per-semester bookstore voucher and a laptop for eligible Indiana high school graduates from Dubois, Crawford, Orange, Perry, Harrison, Martin and Spencer counties. VU Jasper serves about 500 students in more than 25 programs. The Half Pot reached a record $155,800 in 2025, after totals of $154,765 in 2024 and $23,074 in 2023, when the fundraiser affected 18 Dubois County students.