Building a Better Boyertown’s 15th annual Oktoberfest offered two days of German and fall fun.
“Oktoberfest is so much more than beer. It features live entertainment, a variety of food and specialty vendors, along with fun activities for kids and adults alike,” said BaBB Event Coordinator Amanda Machik , and Main Street manager Ellen Martignetti in a statement.
For the kids, there were bounce houses, face painting and gem mining, while adults could try their hand at ax throwing, mug shots and bowling.
Entertainment that weekend was provided by 5th Street Remnants, Auerhahn Schuhplatter Verein German Dancers, German Alumni Band, Happy Dutchman German Band and Yodeling Dave Kline & Mountain Folk Oktoberfest Band.
“We hope this event will provide the community and its visitors with a sense of community, a taste of Germany and a weekend everyone can enjoy,” said Machik and Martignetti.
Held Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th in the downtown Boyertown parking lot, the family-friendly event featured beer, food, music, dance performances and a variety of craft vendors. For the second year, Oktoberfest was preceded by a pre-tasting on Thursday, September 22 at Brakeman’s Café in Boyertown.
Boyertown Mayor Lori Carnes opens the first beer, a Saucony Creek Oktoberfest, to kick off Saturday’s Oktoberfest celebration in Boyertown. (Jesi Yost – For MediaNews Group)
Boyertown Mayor Lori Carnes tapped the first beer, a Saucony Creek Oktoberfest, to kick off Saturday’s Boyertown Oktoberfest celebration.
Following the tradition established by former Mayor Marianne V. Deery, Carnes and her husband dressed for the occasion.
“As mayor, I have been given the opportunity to be part of this great event. I really want to carry on the tradition and have a good time”, said Carnes.
Carnes wore an official Oktoberfest Fraulein dress for adults. Her husband Lonnie wore a Bavarian suit. The duo arrived at the event in the back of a 1999 Ford Mustang.
“I’m very traditionalist, but I love dressing up for most occasions. It is fun!!”
Beers on tap under the Boyertown Oktoberfest tent included Chatty Monks Brewing Company, Split Face, Frecon’s Cidery Semi-Sweet Cider, Free Will Brewing Company’s Scarecrow, Hofbrau Dunkel and Original, Saucony Creek Brewing Company’s Oktoberfest, Sly Fox Brewing Company’s Helles Lager, Brewing Company’s Stable12 Oktoberfest and Yuengling Flight.
This year, for the first time, The Peppermint Stick Candy Store offered the traditional pink vanilla, blue raspberry, and cherry cotton candy flavors, but they also brought some unusual flavors: beer and wine cotton candy. Rachael Kehler, owner of The Peppermint Stick, wanted to try something new, Lynn Scherer explained at the candy store’s booth.
The beer cotton candy was made with Kona Big Wave Golden Ale. The cotton candy wine was created with Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz, Manatawny Creek Winery Riesling, or Blue Mountain Rottie White.
Activities included barrel bowling, gem mining, ax throwing and relay races.
Muhlenberg’s Jennifer Yarish and Boyertown’s Jesse Cook in the final leg of the Boyertown Oktoberfest Run. (Jesi Yost – For MediaNews Group)
First-time participant Jennifer Yarish of Muhlenberg won the stein relay race, “My dad will love that I did this.”
“I had to wait for the water to stop turning so I could go faster,” Jesse Cook of Boyertown said explaining his stein race strategy.
The glasses in the relay race were filled with water. Contestants ran down an aisle between Oktoberfest vendors, turned around, and came back. The winner was chosen based on speed and the amount of water left in the jug.
Another first-time participant, Marcos Teubert of Boyertown, didn’t know what to expect: “It was balancing and competing.”
One of the most popular events featured performances by two local German dance groups.
Members of Gebirgs Trachten Verein Edelweiss from Reading and Auerhahn Schuhplattler Verein German (Bavarian) Dancers from Oley performed two sets of eight dances together as one group.
“We’re happy to be here. This is our second year together. This is our busy season. So my Lederhosen don’t get a break, even though they really need one,” joked member Karl Allmendinger by GTV Edelweiss.
“We’re going to bring you a little bit of the authentic traditional Bavarian dances that you can see at Oktoberfest in Munich,” Allmendinger said.
The dances included an Auftanz or Great March, the Blacksmith’s Dance and the Woodchopper’s Dance.
The women wore dirndl dresses and the male performers wore Lederhosen (shorts). Lederhosen often include a charivari.
Part of traditional Bavarian dress, a charivari is a piece of silver jewelry adorned with items of personal significance. Often there are animal trophies and coins that have been traded or possibly collected from places the wearer has traveled.
Michael Jones wore a charivari adorned with a bear antler, a trophy from a bear he killed, while Josh Meck’s charivari featured coins and antlers he made himself.
Another popular attraction was Friday night’s performance by Yodeling Dave Kline and the Mountain Folk Oktoberfest Band. The band performed traditional Oktoberfest songs such as “Ein Prosit”, “In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus” and “Sierra Madre del Sur”, as well as popular songs such as “In Heaven There is No Beer”, “Beer Barrel Polka” and “Hot Dog Polka.
The band also performed two turnout songs “Das Fliegerlied” and “Chicken Dance” which got the audience up and dancing along to the music.
The Happy Dutchman German Band performed Saturday during Boyertown’s Oktoberfest. (Jesi Yost – For MediaNews Group)
Saturday featured the music of the Happy Dutchman German Band.
“Oktoberfest is the fundraising event for building a better Boyertown,” organizers said. “Oktoberfest helps provide funds for BaBB to continue this mission for the community.”
The nonprofit organization’s mission is to preserve Boyertown’s artistic, historical and agricultural heritage by providing the Boyertown community with physical enhancements, unique opportunities and social interaction for businesses, residents and visitors alike.
For more information about BaBB, call 610-369-3054 or visit www.boyertownpa.org.
