The Germantown Oktoberfest took place this past weekend (October 7) and it was a rather soggy affair. The rain all day Friday continued on into Saturday morning, producing soggy ground and a few related challenges (over the weekend, we had four or five vehicles get stuck in the mud), but we pressed on. By 10:00 it looked like 70 vendors had showed up, rain or no rain, we were having a festival!
The rain did hurt attendance somewhat (2 to 3,000 people this year versus 8 to 10,000 last year), but most folks made the best of it. One woman who lived nearby came over to the festival in the early afternoon. Along with enjoying the festival in person, she also wanted to make sure everything was still in place for the evening. It turned out that she had invited 60 people over for an Oktoberfest party with plans for watching the fireworks from the backyard!
Of course, not everyone knew what to make of all the rain and mud. Perhaps the funniest moment of the festival came at the end of a conversation with Denise. As I headed off to my next destination, I took the most direct route. Denise had brought her three-year old son with her and as I walked away Parker cried out, clearly scandalized, “Mommy! He walked right through that puddle!”
There were two brief showers later in the day, but that didn’t seem to bother folks all that much. I spent part of the afternoon walking around the various booths, talking to the vendors. Everyone was in good spirits, not a single complaint.
As a safety precaution, we did cancel the German band as well as the Teen Band showcase (water and electricity aren’t a good combination), but Cops & Robbers was a hit for their third year running. We ended the festival with fireworks a little before 7:30.
It was a good day.