By Tommy O’Neill//
Adults attending this year’s Oktoberfest were seen carrying their hefty steins around the Frederick Fairgrounds as early as 11 a.m., enjoying the various German beer that was provided.
The beer was provided by businesses in Downtown Frederick, such as Brewer’s Alley and Smoketown Brewery. German beers like Kölsch, Berlin Brown Ale, and Hefeweizen were available.
Oktoberfest was held on the Frederick Fairgrounds as usual. Pavilions were set up with eateries nearby for people to grab a drink or to enjoy the authentic German food, which was provided by the culinary department of Frederick Community College. The college’s students served dishes like roasted German potato salad, bratwurst, schnitzels and hot red cabbage.
At children’s tables, kids made putty pretzels and German-styled hats, and colored a small mug to take home.
Jeremy Scholtes, adviser for both the Hood College and Frederick Rotaract clubs, was volunteering for one of the food booths and assisted with the kid’s area. He was wearing brown and white lederhosen, a black-brim hat that almost came down over his eyes, sleek black dress shoes and high white knee socks that rose to the bottom of his lederhosen.
“We try to pull from as many parts of Frederick as possible,” Scholtes said, looking out over a line of people getting their steins of beer. “The cash gained from Oktoberfest goes directly back to the community or to other local nonprofits.”
While kids were working on their crafts and adults were downing their steins of beer, there were music performers playing traditional German music on an accordion and guitar. They began to perform the Chicken Dance for the children, which caused not only the children to start doing the Chicken Dance, but a lot of their parents, too.
Paul Regis and his wife, Jessica Regis, brought their daughter to the fair and were sitting down at a bench in the children’s craft area. Paul Regis was wearing a large, completely yellow hat.
“I got it [the hat] from Oktoberfest, but it wasn’t being sold. A drunk guy slapped it on my head, and I kept it ever since. I have no idea where he got it from,” Regis said.
The Regis’s said that they have been coming to the Frederick Oktoberfest since 2010 when it first started. They brought their steins as proof, having an older logo displayed on the stein from an Oktoberfest that happened in 2012.
Paul said the reason he and his family keep coming back is because it is an event that has activities for his daughter to do while he and his wife can safely drink and enjoy local beers, all in one place.
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