MINSTER — As the beer flowed to the sound of polka music, one thing is certain the first weekend of October: No matter where you were from, when you get to Minster for Oktoberfest, you are German.
“People say that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s Irish,” Oktoberfest committee president Sue Brandewie said. “But on Oktoberfest, you’re German.”
Now in its 42nd year, this annual celebration of Minster’s German heritage brings anywhere from 50,000 to 60,000 people to the village of 2,800, making this the single largest event of the year for the village.
“This is right there with Christmas,” Brandewie said. “We look forward to this every year. All of our families and the communites really enjoy it. We celebrate our heritage. It’s really a testament to the ‘work hard, play hard’ atmosphere here.”
While featuring a variety of events, including the Little Miss Oktoberfest pageant, the beer tray relays, the jug hoist and today’s 10K run and parade, the event also helps the village give back to area non-profit organizations looking to fundraise, with each food vendor paired with a charitable organization to help raise funds from food sales. Money raised directly by the Oktoberfest committee is split between the Journeymens and the Service Club.
“That’s the beauty of this festival,” Brandewie said. “The way we’ve designed this is for every non-profit organization to get their turn in now. Don’t go around selling candles or magazines. This is one time to make enough money to the run the clubs, do the scholarships and everything. That way the money also stays here in the community.”
In everything, organizers tried to maintain a distinct German atmosphere, including the food, which featured both local and outside vendors offering everything from frankfurters to bratwurst to cabbage rolls. With the exception of one rock concert on Friday, all the music played throughout the day also had a distinct German feel, such as the Hamilton, Ohio-based Klaberheads, playing a variety of original polkas.
“We just feel it helps create the mood,” Brandewie said. “The dirndls, the lederhosen, we have it all here.”
Minster’s Oktoberfest will conclude today with the 10K run starting at 9:30 a.m. and stands remaining open until 8 p.m.
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