With clear skies all weekend, the Oktoberfest of the German Cultural Society of St. Louis pulled in hundreds of revelers, said organization spokesman Joe Wendl.
The event was held Sept. 11-13 at Donau Park in House Springs. Sessions were held Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday during the day.
“We had a great weekend,” Wendl said. “We had about 900 attend over the weekend. There were nice crowds. There was excellent weather. It didn’t rain at all for the weekend.”
Those attending the festival, which draws people from all around the St. Louis metropolitan area, experienced German music and dance, as well as tasted German food and beer, among other refreshments.
Wendl said the crowds ate meals featuring bratwurst, weisswurst and other items such as sauerkraut balls.
“We served 165 meals on Friday, 225 on Saturday and 350 on Sunday,” he said.
The weekend’s bands included the Wendl Band on Friday, Die Spitzbuam on Saturday and the Deutschmeister Brass Band on Sunday. All three performed polka music.
The Kindertanzgruppe (children 3-12), Jugendgruppe (youth 12-26), Die Heimatgruppe (young adult 18-35), Volkstanzgruppe (adult 35 and over) and D’Frohliche Schuhplattler (all ages) dance groups performed during the weekend, Wendl said.
He noted that some people seem confused that the Oktoberfest event of the German Cultural Society happened in the first half of September, but the original festival in Germany is put on at a comparable time.
“It was a lot of fun celebrating the first Oktoberfest of the season,” Wendl said. “Oktoberfest – the original one in Munich – actually starts in September and ends in October. It’s about two weeks long.
“The one in Munich started out in October but was moved back because of weather.”
Oktoberfest is the last of the society’s activities at Donau Park for the season, he said.
“We want to thank everyone for supporting us at Donau Park,” Wendl said. “We’ll be back at the park with our Wurstmarkt in the spring.”
Until then, the group offers events at the German Cultural Society of St. Louis Hall, which is located at 3652 S. Jefferson Ave. in St. Louis. For more information about the organization’s events, visit the German Cultural Society of St. Louis page on Facebook or go to germanstl.org.