The New Bern Breakfast Rotary is once again delighted to host the12th annual B/S/H/ Oktoberfest celebration with a new pre-event this year. The festivities will begin with a free, open to the public, “Tapping the Keg” Party at Persimmons Restaurant on East Front Street, Wednesday, September 27, starting at 5:30 pm. According to tradition, the Mayor must “tap the keg” to officially open Oktoberfest celebrations, so New Bern’s Mayor Odham will perform that honor at 6:00 pm. There is no charge to attend, although any beverage or food will be purchased directly with Persimmons.
The actual Oktoberfest event will be held on Saturday, September 30th, at Union Point Park on East Front Street. The gate will open at 5:30 pm and will continue until around 10:00 pm. Advance tickets for the event, and early beer tickets, are recommended and available online at https://bit.ly/OKTOBERFESTTICKETS and will be available at the Park.
The traditional Oktoberfest celebration is usually held in Germany during late September and early October each year as a famed beer festival and fair that has been replicated around the world. For more than a decade, the New Bern Breakfast Rotary club has hosted this signature event in New Bern to raise funds for their charitable projects in the community including ten scholarships, donations to area nonprofits, and their well-established Kicks-for-Kids program each fall which provides nearly 350 new pairs of shoes to elementary and middle school children throughout Craven County.
This year’s event will once again feature traditional German-style fare, including bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, giant Bavarian pretzels, and German mustard, all catered by Fat Fellas from Newport, NC. Members of the Breakfast Rotary club and other volunteers from the community will be covering all the bases before, during and after the evening’s festivities. Students from New Bern High School who are part of Interact, the student club associated with Rotary, will also be assisting with various tasks during the evening.
The festivities will be under a huge tent set up at Union Point Park with both indoor and outdoor seating. Adams Beverage and R&D Brewing are making sure there is plenty of beer and wine on hand, as well as offering a specially crafted Oktoberfest Beer just for our event. There will also be soft drinks and water available.
Of course, the thing that makes this event so special is the Little German Band and Dancers from Raleigh, NC. Wearing authentic costumes, and playing all the popular Oktoberfest tunes, this group of experienced and energetic performers will once again lead the crowd in singing and dancing in the true spirit of a traditional celebration.
This year, our popular and traditional Stein holding contest will again be open to both men and women competitors to test their strength and endurance. The Masskrugstemmen challenge requires each participant to hold a one-liter stein glass, filled with water (not beer!), straight out with one arm in front of their chest to see who can hold it the longest. This year our event’s competition will be included in the national U.S. Steinholding Association’s nationwide contest.