Oktoberfest

The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 in honor of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's (later King Ludwig I) marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Oktoberfest in America is now an excuse to celebrate German culture and drink beer. I attended my first celebration a few years ago with my KSU Alum group, which coincides with Ohio's homecoming weekend. It's been a tradition of ours for the last three years. This year was no exception.

In Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held each year during late September (moved up a few weeks for better weather). It is the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year.

Oktoberfestbiers are the beers that have been served at the event in Munich since 1818, and are supplied by six breweries, known as the Big Six. Originally, Oktoberfestbiers were the lagers brewed in March and allowed to ferment slowly during the summer months, but from 1872 a strong March brewed version of an amber-red became the favorite Oktoberfestbier.

Since the 1970s the type of beer served at the festival has been a pale lager. These lagers may range from pale gold to deep amber, with the darker colors more common in the USA. In addition to the 6,940,600 litres of beer consumed, visitors also eat huge quantities of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Wurstel (sausages), along with Brezel (pretzel), Knodeln (potato or bread dumplings), Kasespatzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut, or Blaukraut (red cabbage), oxen, etc.

At our Oktoberfest at The Phoenix Club, we enjoyed potato pancakes, schnitzel (breaded veal), brautwurst (sausages), sauerkraut, and funnel cake (with strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar), the latter accounting for my increased weight the next day, I'm sure. Well, okay, maybe the large stein of Britmeister I had might have contributed too. There was a terrific band direct from Germany, and many cute couples performing for us. But, the crowd really gets into it, getting on our feet and out on the dance floor for the "chicken," flapping our wings, etc. and sundry other fun dances where we can exercise our geekiness without standing out.

Inspector Clouseau even visited Oktoberfest in the 1976 movie, "The Pink Panther Strikes Again." This event is celebrated all over the globe

If you get a chance to attend one of these events throughout the U.S. next year, do so, even if you don't drink beer. Bring some friends, and you'll make new ones too. It's that kind of atmosphere.