Second year of Oktoberfest promises German experience
Locals don’t have to travel to New Braunfels, Texas, or overseas to experience a great German festival.
Shreveport Oktoberfest 2013 will be held in south Shreveport on Sept. 29 at Zocolo Neighborhood Eatery and Drinkery located at 436 Ashley Ridge Blvd. VIP and premium table ticket-holders may enter at 5 p.m., and gates open for individual ticket holders at 6 p.m.
The event is in its second year. New events for 2013 are the Down Home Meats Masskrugstemmen Competition, the TapSnap Bier Girls Photo Kiosk and German music by Prost! Band from New Orleans.
Oktoberfest’s slogan says it all , “Traditionally Untraditional,” said Audrey Robinson, event coordinator. “There is nothing like this in our area. This is not a beer-tasting. It is a true Oktoberfest event, following the same day as the one in Germany.”
Keeping with tradition, revelers will feel as if they have stepped into Munich with more than 6,000 square feet of tented space. Last year, Robinson said 500 showed up in pouring rain. “We intend on growing the crowd,” Robinson said.
The event features more than a dozen authentic German and German-style brews in the Biergarten, brats, pretzels, spatzle and more. Beers include Beck’s, Widmer Brothers, Krombacher, Great Raft, Paulaner Munchen, Samuel Adams and Abita.
Domestic beers and a full bar will be available.
No German festival would be complete without the traditional dirndls and lederhosen. Guests are encouraged to wear German garb.
Bavarian merchandise will be sold, including 22-ounce mugs (for $10 and includes the first beer, with refill beers for $8), chicken dance hats, fedoras, alpine hats and pretzel-shaped glasses.
Sixty-ounce pitchers are available for $20 with refills at $15.
Musical entertainment for later in the evening will be provided by Shreveport natives Bayou Gypsy, who will play jazz, funk and rock.
Depending on the time of the LSU game, a 20-foot inflatable outdoor TV screen will be ready for Tiger fans.
Masskrugstemmen is a beer steinholding contest. Contestants hold a 1-liter stein filled to the top with beer (about 5 pounds) at arm’s length as long as possible without spilling. That contest is at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The current world record is 20 minutes and 19 seconds, Robinson said.
In 2014, Shreveport’s Oktoberfest event will be an official Masskrugstemmen qualifying site for competition to the nationals in New York City.
Robinson said the photo kiosk is interactive and guests can pose among themed backgrounds and with props.
Tickets are available online at www.ShreveportOktoberfest.com, at Zocolo and Wine Country and its Twelve Oaks Bottle Shop location.
Individual tickets are $65 and include admission, a T-shirt and OktoberFEAST (brat bar, brats in a blanket, pretzels and more).
VIP tables are $660 and include admission, T-shirts, OktoberFEAST and commemorative mugs for eight. Premium packages start at $850 and include all VIP table benefits plus all beer and an iShuttle. There is a downloadable link for this package.
WANT TO GO?
For more information, visit www.shreveportoktoberfest.com or www.FB.com/shreveportoktoberfest. Audrey Robinson can be reached at 426-0509, or audrey@zocoloeatery. com. Guests must be 21 or older with valid identification to attend the event.
