Joe Wendl of the German Cultural Society of St. Louis said it would be hard to find an Oktoberfest in the region held earlier than the one his group will put on this weekend.
The event is scheduled for 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the organization’s Donau Park, 5020 West Four Ridge Road, in House Springs.
“We kind of claim ourselves as the first Oktoberfest of the season,” said Wendl, a member of the society’s executive board.
The festival is open to the public, and admission is free. Refreshments are available for sale.
Wendl said the event typically attracts hundreds of people each year, he said.
“I would say we expect 1,000 people over the three days,” he said. “We draw from the whole St. Louis metropolitan area – from Chesterfield to St. Charles to Belleville (Ill.). Also, from Jefferson County, of course. The whole area.”
The event will include German music, dancing, beer and food.
“Some people come for the food and the beer,” he said. “Some come for the camaraderie, just hanging out at the park. Others like the music and dance groups.”
On Friday night, bratwursts will be available for purchase and the Die Spitzbuam band will play.
The next night, a meal of bratwurst with a side of three sauerkraut balls or French fries will be sold. A la carte items that will be sold include buckets of French fries and German chocolate cake. The Wendl Band will perform.
On Sunday, the Deutschmeister Brass Band will perform. Attendees that day also may watch soccer games scheduled for 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Dinners of bratwurst and weisswurst served with a choice of potato salad, slaw and bean salad, along with sauerkraut and bread, as well as apple or cherry streusel, will be sold.
Pretzels will be sold all three days. Food will be available until 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday, or until sold out, Wendl said.
The Kindertanzgruppe, Jugendgruppe, Die Heimatgruppe, Volkstanzgruppe and D’Frohliche Schuhplattler dance groups also are scheduled to perform.
“These are our five dance groups from the German Cultural Society,” Wendl said.
Some merchandise will be sold during the festival, too.
“The German Cultural Society will have booths selling German-related items,” he said.
Donau Park offers a large pavilion covering most of the Oktoberfest activities, Wendl noted.
“It goes on rain or shine,” he said. “There is plenty of room in the pavilion. And, the forecasts I’ve heard are for cool weather.”
He said Oktoberfest is his organization’s last outdoor event of the year.
“We’ll start up again next spring,” he said.
The group holds events during the colder months at its Jefferson Hall location, 3652 S. Jefferson Ave. in St. Louis.
For information, visit the German Cultural Society of St. Louis page on Facebook or germanstl.org.