Oktoberfest

In 1810, when Princess Therese was married to the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwg, the festival began as a wedding celebration. In a meadow adjacent to Munich, as part of the wedding entertainment, a horse race was staged for 40,000 enthusiasts from all over Bavaria. The purpose of the celebration was two-fold:

• First, to give thanks to the Lord for the past year's crops and other blessings.
• Second, to share in the joy of the occasion with the family in the spirit of true love.

Such was the success of the party given after the wedding, that the meadow was named the Theresien-Wiese in honor of the princess. Even today, the meadow retains its name, and is kept as a large open clearing within the heart of a city grown far beyond it. Today, the festival comes alive on opening, when, as the clock of St. Paul's Church in Munich strikes 12 noon, the Burgermeister enters one of the beer tents, and taps the first cask and quaffs the first stein during a 12 cannon salute. One of the highlights of the fest is the Trachtenfest parade, in which thousands of participants from all over Germany dress in their native costumes. Bands, floats, and decorated beer wagons, drawn by beautiful horses, wind their way through the downtown streets and out to the Wies'n, short for festival grounds. While Munich remains the original home for Oktoberfest, LaCrosse, Wisconsin has become the home of Oktoberfest, USA.

The above history was extracted from the Oktoberfest USA History website. Please visit this great website for a more complete explanation of the festival, with costumes, documents, and photos.

Join us in October for this fun event!