Oktoberfest 2009 in Ventura County, California

Oktoberfest is a German festival that's now popular in countries all over the world. You don't have to be German to celebrate Oktoberfest, but liking beer and sausages and dancing the polka will help you enjoy the celebrations.

In Germany, Oktoberfest is celebrated in Munich and lasts for two weeks. It ends the first Sunday in October. Oktoberfest also refers to a sweet, copper-colored beer made especially for the fall beer drinking festival. This beer, called Marzen, can be served only by local Munich tavern keepers. In Munich, it's estimated that over 1 million gallons of beer and 400,000 sausages are consumed in the two week period. What a great stimulus for the beer and pork industries!

History

The very first Oktoberfest was in Munich, to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, and was a horse race. It lasted only five days, from October 12 - 17, 1810. The event went over so well that it was repeated for 24 years after that until it was cancelled because of war. During those years, the Bavarians added music, dancing, rides, and an agricultural fair. Even though all of those events stopped, the horse races went on until 1960.

German immigrants who came to America after WWI and WWII, brought with them their tradition of the fall celebration of Oktoberfest. Today, more than 700 Oktoberfests are celebrated throughout the US.

Local Oktoberfest Celebrations

The official Oktoberfest site is counting down the minutes until the festival is underway in Munich, but cities all over the world are free to start their beer-fests anytime between September and November.

Ventura County Oktoberfest

This year, the Newbury Park Rotary Club will host its 23rd annual Oktoberfest on Saturday and Sunday, September 26 - 27, 2009, at the Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark.

Underwood Family Farms
3370 Sunset Valley Road
Moorpark, CA 93021 (located at the 23 Fwy @ Tierra Rejada exit)
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
$10 entry fee all ages (2 and under free)

Besides the Pilar Giant pretzels that are being flown in from Munich for the Oktoberfest, there will be German brats (bratwurst sausages, not children!), a food court, dancing and live entertainment, free hay wagon ride and corn maze, a craft vendor show, and much more.

For the entertainment line-up, click HERE.

This year's Oktoberfest will feature an expanded beer tasting pavilion where those of legal drinking age will be able to compare California's own Micro Brewery fare to traditional German brews.

Get out your lederhosen and peasant garb to join in the daily costume contest, or wear something less Bavarian and take part in the stein holding contest. How hard can that be? Cheer on your favorite oinker at the pig races, try your hand at the giant corn slingshot, and enjoy picking your own pumpkins and vegetables out in the fields of the Underwood Family Farms.

The Newbury Park Rotary Club puts a huge effort into improving their annual Oktoberfest and is proud that the proceeds of this local tradition go back to those in the community who need their help.