5 reasons to love oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a 15-day celebration in September and October which takes place in Munich, Germany and attracts over 6 million people each year! This festival all started with the royal wedding of King Ludwig I and his wife Theresie in 1810 and in true Bavarian tradition continues ‘til this day.

From chanting “Ein Prost” before drinking a liter of especially brewed beer to eating your weight in Bratwurst, this is one party you don’t want to miss! Can’t make it to Munich? No worries! There are plenty of celebrations right here in Charlotte. Being ½ German and having the name “Heidi”, I feel like it’s my responsibility to share the top 5 reasons you should love Oktoberfest!

Reason #1/einz- the Beer

This isn’t just about regular beer drinking. Each year the first keg is tapped by the Mayor of Munich and the first beer is given to the Minister-President of Bavaria. The ceremonious gun salute is fired, and the festival begins. The beer comes from Munich’s six breweries: Paulaner, Spaten, Augustiner, Hofbrau, and Lowenbrau. The recipe can only include barley, malt, yeast, and hops according to the 1516 “purity law”. It’s served in liter steins (mugs) and there is no small option so pace yourself!

Reason #2/zwei- the food

Traditional Bavarian food is delicious! From Weisswurst or Bratwurst (sausages) to Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) and Hendl (roast chicken) you can’t go wrong! Have some potato salad or Spatzle (cheesy potato dumpling) on the side . Don’t forget about the amazing pretzels! A little bread with that beer was never a bad idea, especially dipped in beer cheese!

Reason #3/Drei- dressing up

Ladies grab your dirndls and guys grab your lederhosen! Dirndls are often gingham, with embroidered aprons, and seem to always have a busty look. Just don’t forget- tie your apron bow on the right side if you’re taken on the left if you’re single and ready to mingle. Lederhosen are shorts made with cow suede leather held up with suspenders and usually paired with a checked shirt. Don’t forget to add a felt alpine hat to complete the outfit.

Reason #4/vier- the decor

In Munich, you will find beer tents elaborately decorated with colors and decorations tied to Bavarian history and culture. Blue and white are the primary colors intermingled with some black, red, and gold from the German flag. Large round wreaths hang from the ceiling as well as streamers and the Bavarian flag.

Reason #5/funf- the oompah band

Who doesn’t love an oompah band? Before you know it, you will be singing along to some of the traditional songs that get played over and over. What is an oompah band? It’s a Bavarian-style brass band that performs Volkstümliche Musik (German for “folksy music”). The “oompah” name reflects the sound of the bass line played on an instrument like the double bass or tuba in the band.

Local Celebrations

In Munich, in addition to all of this, is a carnival type atmosphere complete with ring tosses, target shooting, and bumper cars. If you can’t quite pull it together to make the trip, don’t worry! There are plenty of Oktoberfest celebrations right here in Charlotte! Two places I checked out this year are the Gilde Brewery and Ballantyne Backyard.

Gilde Brewery

The Gilde is a new brewery located in Lower SouthEnd at 3530 Dewitt Lane. It is an authentic German brewery with a brewing history of several hundred years in Hannover, Germany. It chose Charlotte to be its first North American headquarters for brewing and distribution in 2019. The Connection is through Queen Charlotte (the city’s namesake), who was the Electress of Hannover in the 18^th century. Along with their authentic German cuisine, this seemed like the obvious place to go during Oktoberfest. It’s also the only brewery that carries the Lebkuchen (gingerbread) hearts!

Ballantyne Backyard- das best oktoberfest

Ballantyne Backyard hosted “Das best Oktoberfest”. With an entry price you received a glass to do all the beer tasting you could handle. The Oompah band was playing all day and tents were set up with vendors as well as food trucks selling bratwurst. The weather was amazing (much warmer than Munich) and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people in lederhosen and dirndls!

Host your own oktoberfest

Before we downsized, we hosted our very own Oktoberfest. With a little help from party city and amazon the decorations are easy to pull off. We grilled bratwurst and I made my mom’s German potato salad and sauerkraut salad. Of course, we had lots of pretzels and lots of beer!