10,000 Say Ja In Biggest Oktoberfest
Illawarra Mercury
Monday October 20, 2008
IT was bier and Deutschland uber alles at Oktoberfest celebrations at Kembla Grange over the weekend.
Organiser Sigi Kaiserfeld said almost 10,000 people from as far south as Nowra and north from Newcastle attended the Bavarian party, making it the best Oktoberfest in its 20-year history at the German Club.German beer flowed freely throughout the weekend, except for one small hiccup on Saturday when the bar ran out of the specially made Oktoberfest Erdinger brew. "I said to them, 'sorry, we haven't got any Erdinger at the moment, but we have got plenty of VB and Tooheys Draught', and they said they didn't want that," Mr Kaiserfeld said."The Erdinger is top-quality beer that you really can't get in Australia."You have to taste it yourself and it is good - it is like a pilsener."Perhaps it was that good-quality beer that kept everyone on their best behaviour."It was incredible how sometimes the young men misbehave but here they are always tops," Mr Kaiserfeld said. "Even the police said they had seen a few troublemakers at other places over the weekend but here at the festival they always behave like little lambs."Oktoberfest was first held in Munich in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and commoner Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.SLIDESHOW For more photos, go to www.illawarramercury.com.au
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury